TONY Smith believes the return of some familiar faces to Warrington Wolves' backroom staff can set the standard for his current side.

Assistant coach Lee Briers is joined by strength and conditioner Jon Clarke, player welfare manager Richie Mathers and Simon Grix, who has a performance role.

“It’s great to see some familiar faces but well-respected faces,” said Smith upon the start of pre-season training this week.

“They played an important part in our recent history and it’s good to have them all back starting to influence the place.

“There’s a real nice feel about some of these past players that have been here and are reintroducing some of the standards that we’ve had at different stages through their experiences – that’s a positive.

“The squad have respect for these players and former players and what they did here. They respect what they know now, too.

“There’s a sense of players who have been part of us passing on what they’ve learned along the way, so it’s given us a different feel.”

Smith says the focus at this stage of pre-season is on building up fitness and core skills.

“We’re not trying to hit the ground at 1,000 miles per hour,” he added. "We need to build them up to it.

"A big emphasis is placed on their physical build-up between now and Christmas, along with really going back to basics on some core skills – passing, offload and tackle basics.

"We strip it right back and make sure these young guys have great core skills. You have to practice the most simple things, but they aren’t always the easiest to carry out.”