IT came as no surprise to those who know him well when Steve Diamond took over as head coach at troubled Saracens last week.

The former Sale Sharks hooker, who formed a winning partnership as a coach alongside Jim Mallinder with Sale and England, was always going to end up in a prestigious coaching job.

The journey to the top hasn't been easy for a man who has often referred to himself as the `Partington Gypsy.'

He has enjoyed a successful career because, like his bosom pal Steve Smith, the former Sale and England captain, he is incredibly streetwise.

Like Sharks' Andy Titterrell, a player Diamond helped turn into an England player, he wasn't the biggest hooker in the world, but he made up for that with his aggressive play.

Overlooked

Having been overlooked for the Sale captaincy in favour of Mallinder, Diamond also found himself playing second fiddle to his friend as a coach and was even deemed surplus to requirements during Adrian Hadley's reign at Heywood Road.

At the time he was spitting feathers, but respected colleagues including Sale legend Fran Cotton advised him to join a junior club to earn his spurs.

He went to Macclesfield and started the club on the road towards its present National League status beforebeing brought back to Sale to sort out the side's disastrous lineout after a humiliating afternoon at Newcastle in the Powergen Cup.

Ironically, Diamond's first game in charge this afternoon is in the same competition against the same opposition.

Once his feet were back under the table at Sale, he helped Mallinder steer the club to victory in the Parker Pen Cup and to second spot in the Zurich Premiership.

He produced one of the most efficient lineouts in the top flight and, even when Sharks owner Brian Kennedy reviewed his future coaching requirements last season, his job was believed to be more secure than Mallinder's.

But media coverage that all was not well at Edgeley Park alerted Saracens who made Diamond an offer he couldn't refuse.

He took several Sale players with him to Vicarage Road but, apart from a win over Sharks at the end of last season, Diamond's move south has yet to yield great success.

While Sharks have flourished this season, Saracens have faltered and following a demolition by bottom club Harlequins, Australian head coach Rod Kafer's job became untenable.

Surprise

But Kafer's exit did not signal the end of the line for his assistant and nobody who knows Diamond well is surprised that he survived to step into a job he clearly coveted.

Dimes likes to be top dog. He did on the field and he does off it.

Apart from when he was cutting his teeth at Macclesfield, his coaching career has been spent in the shadows. He wanted the limelight and, now that he has got it, it will be interesting to see how he fares.

Diamond has an additional string to his bow. He is also a successful businessman so knows how to play boardroom politics when necessary.

If he makes a success of the job at Saracens and turns around their season, then, with recent involvement in the England camp already on his CV, who knows where he might end up?

And there will be many at Sale who wish him well - except when Saracens play the Sharks, of course!