Player recruitment will be the priority for new Celtic Crusaders head coach Brian Noble.

The Welsh club confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in rugby league today when the 48-year-old former Wigan and Great Britain boss was unveiled at a press conference at the Celtic Manor Hotel.

Ex-Huddersfield coach Jon Sharp, who was assistant to Noble with Great Britain from 2004-05, will be first team coach while Iestyn Harris, newly-appointed Wales national coach, is also joining a new-look backroom staff as assistant.

All three have signed two-year contracts with the Welsh club, who parted company with Australian John Dixon after the Crusaders finished bottom of the table at the end of their first season in Super League.

Noble, who left Wigan 11 days ago, admits the Crusaders coaching team are facing a big task and has drawn up a "shopping list" after inheriting a squad of around 10 contracted players.

"I see it as nearly a blank piece of paper," he said. "We need to be patient but we need to hit the ground running. We're behind the eight-ball in relation to recruitment.

"That is our top priority for the next few weeks but the final pieces of our team may not come together until January.

"We've certainly got enough contacts within the game and, should the plates that are spinning drop our way, we'll be competitive and that's all you can ask.

"We're at the back of the queue unfortunately but we'll cobble something together that is very competitive.

"Some of the players on the retained list are world-class players - people like Lincoln Withers and Mark Bryant have played at the highest level in the NRL - and there is absolute potential for bringing young players through."

The Crusaders won just three matches in their inaugural Super League campaign, one of them ironically against Noble's Wigan, and were hit by visa irregularities at the start and finish of the season.

But the club are making a fresh start with a move from Bridgend to Newport's Rodney Parade and Crusaders chief executive Mike Turner described today's announcement as "probably the most exciting period in the club's short history".

"We wanted to make a statement of intent," he said. "It was key for us to get the right personnel and I think we've done that. It's the start of a brand new era for the club."

Noble, who coached Bradford to five consecutive Grand Final appearances before moving to Wigan in 2006, said he had other job opportunities but was excited at the prospects for the Welsh club.

"I feel it's a fabulous opportunity the three of us have been given," he said.

"It's an awesome challenge, not only to improve performances and prospects of the Crusaders but to give opportunities to young Welshmen so that they can play in that team as well.

"This challenge for me is as much about the game as it is for the Crusaders.

"It is a tough challenge but the potential is there to build something and leave something special.

"I'm very confident that two, maybe three years down the track, we'll have a very stable Super League entity in South Wales which is what the game of rugby league needs.

"It wasn't a difficult decision because one of my ambitions has always been to coach a franchise-type of club.

"I've always thought that places like Cumbria and South Wales are hotbeds of rugby. That's the attraction for me.

"It's been at the forefront of my mind since licences came in, to go somewhere fresh and new and stamp your authority on it.

"There were other job opportunities for me and it's to the credit of the Crusaders that they've attracted us down here.

"I'm still an ambitious guy and I want to do very well here."

Sharp, who guided Huddersfield to a first Challenge Cup final appearance for 44 years and the Super League play-offs for the first time in his five years with the club, says all three coaches plan to move into the area.

"It's an enormous move but we're very committed to it and it's an indication of how serious we are," said Sharp.