Mike Umaga has announced a reshuffle to his backroom staff with incumbent forwards' coach Don MacKinnon leaving the club to be replaced by legendary hooker Dave Addleton.

Coventry's disastrous defeat at Sedgley Park on New Year's Eve appears to have forced their head coach into a serious rethink about his support network and, as a result, the former Scotland international, who only joined the club in the summer, has been relieved of his duties.

Umaga also revealed Darren Grewcock will be returning as fitness coach ten years after leaving Coventry in mysterious circumstances.

Since then he has been player-coach at Nuneaton and director of rugby at Hinckley as well as conditioning coach at Coventry City and Leicester Tigers.

But it was the dismissal of MacKinnon that caused Umaga most discomfort after it became clear the former Edinburgh Reiver's business interests were impacting on his role at Butts Park.

"I had to sit down with him and basically tell him that his commitment was not there," said Umaga. "His other job was affecting the amount of time he could spend with the team. It was a hard decision but one of those things in life.

"He does accept that he had let me down on a couple of occasions and was honest enough to take it on the chin."

Addleton steps into the role after retiring from first team rugby at the end of last season and Umaga seemed genuinely excited about the prospect of working with a man who has made 354 first team appearances over 25 years.

"Dave is very passionate about the club and really wants to give it a good go. He has the respect of the players

and that is a big thing in rugby. If you do not have it, it makes your job harder to do. The players know that he will not beat around the bush."

And the engagement of Grewcock's services will also help the New Zealander in that it relieves him of the burden of monitoring his players' fitness regimes.

"Darren's appointment frees my time up a bit more," he explained. "He is a specialist in his field in terms of working with players individually with their body make up and lifestyles.

"If we are serious about taking the boys' fitness to the next step then we needed a specialist. The way he has refocused the players has been very refreshing.

"I know the players are in good hands and if they don't want to do his work then they won't be around too long."

With a coaching team of three now Umaga will not have to spread himself so thinly.

"My focus becomes more precise as well. All I have to think about is rugby and not things like going down to the gym to work with the boys who are not involved on a Saturday.

"The three of us are keen on changing cultures and giving the boys a really healthy rugby environment. But they also have a part in building themselves," he said.

* The North Midlands Cup will kick-off on Saturday with two quarter-final ties involving four former winners.

Bromsgrove, cup winners in 1982 and 2000, entertain Whitchurch - who lifted the trophy in 1997 and 1999 - at Finstall Park.

Camp Hill, county cup holders in 1980 and again in their centenary season of 1994, take on Malvern, who won the cup for their only time four years ago, in the other tie at Haslucks Green Road.

The two other scheduled quarter-finals - Newport against Luctonians and Dudley Kingswinford's clash with University College Worcester - have been postponed.

Luctonians have a rescheduled Midlands One game at Burton while Dudley King-swinford are involved in the sixth round of the Powergen Intermediate Cup with a home tie against Luton.

The outstanding quarter-final ties are due to be completed by April 2.

* Jon Taylor, the Stourbridge lock, who was sent off for stamping in the National League Two game against Orrell on December 17 goes before an RFU disciplinary panel in Coventry on Tuesday night.