SIMON STEAD has vowed his heart remains at Sheffield and wants to be at the club “as long as they want him”.

The Tigers legend was announced as taking over the GB job with Olly Allen over the weekend to replace the departed Alun Rossiter.

But the former Sheffield junior and No.1 insists he wants to continue his role at Owlerton in 2020.

He said: “As far as I’m concerned it has no bearing on my job at Sheffield. I will be staying at Owlerton as long as I’m wanted.

“Obviously there’s a little bit of uncertainty regarding the ownership of the club. If there are new people who come in, I’d like to think they would keep me.

“Personally I’d like the current promotion to carry on. I think they’ve done a great job over the past few years and we all have common goals. There’s still so much to achieve with the Tigers.

“This is a club I love. I regard it as my home. I started my career at Sheffield, and went on to be the No.1 and captain and won the Premier League Riders’ Championship. I’d always want to be involved with the club.

“It’s obviously a huge honour to be given the Great Britain job. Olly and I go back a long way and it’s a very exciting challenge for both of us.

“The new Great Britain set-up under Rob Painter is a breath of fresh air. We have a big job on our hands but it’s one we will relish.

Stead, 37, admits it was a hard campaign for the Tigers as they fell short of the pre-season hype as Championship favourites.

He added: “It was a strange season really. I felt we were just a fraction short of getting results. Then I also believe the season ended too quickly for us. In the last month I thought the new side was getting into its stride.

“However, that’s how it goes sometimes. We’ve had some massive highs and some lows at the club but we return next year hungrier and stronger.”