Steve Diamond on the rebound at Worcester from the Sale divorce 'that ended nicely'

Worcester boss Steve Diamond made 290 appearances for Sale before coaching them and then spending 10 successful years as director of rugby

New Worcester Warriors boss Steve Diamond says his return to Sale this Saturday is more than just meeting up with an old flame again - but more like "a divorce that ended nicely".

After 26 years together, including the odd 'squabble' along the way, Diamond proved that he was not forever when he left in December 2020 for personal family reasons.

He left behind his son Sam, who is still the media manager with Manchester's only professional rugby union club.

But, after almost a year out of the game, Diamond followed Worcester owners Jason Whittingham and Colin Goldring down from the North West to join Warriors as lead rugby consultant in November.

Having got rid of head coach Jonathan Thomas last month, Diamond is now the main man at Sixways, having retained his official title of consultant for now, until he officially becomes director of rugby at the end of this season.

And, after only two games at the helm, defeats by Northampton and Leicester, fate and the fixture list have already thrown him a quick return trip to the AJ Bell Stadium.

"I suppose it's a bit like a divorce," Diamond told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "Of the last 30 years I was there for 26 of them. Some divorces end nicely. Some don't. I was fortunate that mine ended in an amicable way. When they end nicely you still get invited back into the house.

"Sale have now got a younger model looking after them in Alex Sanderson and Worcester end up with an old lag like me.

Alex Sanderson (left) is assisted at Sale by head coach Paul Deacon, the four-times former Grand Final winner Steve Diamond first recruited for Sale from rugby league in 2015

"I made Alex skipper at Sale in 2001 when he was the youngest captain in the Premiership. He moved to Saracens with me when I left in 2004 and he stayed on after I left in 2006.

"We have always maintained a good friendship. There's a rivalry which is obvious and, to be fair to Al, the score is about 20-0 to him because he has coached Saracens and I coached Sale and, more often than not, we got beat.

"Going up to Manchester as a rival or old flame, as Sale are describing me, is something different, a new experience.

"I've had a good year out, then come to Worcester and helped to make some tough decisions. That's what I'm good at and hopefully I will prove that here over the next two or three years.

"Sale's squad, their position and basis behind the scenes took a long time to build. I was the figurehead for a long time but a lot of people were involved and deserve a lot of credit.

"But you move on to pastures new and I'm excited about what we are trying to do at Worcester over the next few years.

"But we have got a lot to do. We have been comprehensively beaten over the last two weeks - and we will see over the next two or three years who has got the best deal won't we?"

'We want Worcester to be respected in the Premiership and in Europe'

"The job we have here at Worcester is to produce young talent to complement the experienced, gnarly players we're looking to bring in over the summer.

"We want to be respected in the Premiership as a highly combative team and we want to be respected in Europe. Those footsteps need to start slowly. Over the next month everybody will be informed who is staying and who is going and then we start the recruitment drive.

"I'm not going to be ruthless with it. It's going to be fair. Everybody is going to be given the opportunity to play and show their wares. We will streamline the squad a little bit. It will be a healthy, vibrant environment going into next season.

"There are some great players here but there are some who haven't fulfilled their potential. Over the next three or four weeks they will be given that opportunity.

"Four or five of those decisions have been made already and the people who will be leaving have promised me that they will be very diligent and work as hard as they possibly can until we pass them on."

Steve Diamond was talking to BBC Hereford & Worcester's Dan Wheeler