COLOMBO: New Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford on Tuesday acknowledged he faced a huge rebuilding task after a string of recent retirements as he began his second stint in charge of the islanders.

The South African said he was honoured to return to Sri Lanka, whom he previously coached from 2012 to 2014 but urged fans to be patient after a recent slump saw the side tumble down the Test rankings.

“For a coach, it is really a special group of lads to work with,” Ford told reporters in Colombo, a day after taking up his post. “At the same time, I am very aware what a huge challenge it is. I think Sri Lanka cricket finds itself in the very early stages of a very important rebuilding stage. A lot of hard work needs to be done.”

The 55-year-old, who quit last week as coach of English county side Surrey, is taking the reins at one of the most troubled periods for Sri Lankan cricket since it was awarded Test match status in 1981.

Batting stars Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara both retired from international cricket last year and other match-winners such as spinner Rangana Herath and the opener Tillakaratne Dilshan are expected to follow suit later this year.

“Everyone, the players, the selectors and the board must have patience,” Ford remarked. “I think that this rebuilding phase is done on an extremely solid foundation. So patience is important.”

Sri Lanka’s formidable home record took a hit last year. The team lost Test series to Pakistan and India while Sangakkara was still playing. Sri Lanka won against a low-ranked West Indies.

The islanders then travelled to New Zealand where they were outplayed in all forms of the game in a tour that was soured by allegations of drinking parties and squabbling.

Sri Lanka are now down to seventh place in the Test rankings although they do remain third in the table for the best international Twenty20 teams, partly due to their triumph in the last World T20 trophy in 2014.

Thilanga Sumathipala, president of the Sri Lankan cricket board, said that Sri Lanka should benefit from Ford’s spells with both Surrey and Kent a decade ago in the build-up to the next ODI World Cup in 2019.

“Graham knows English conditions very well and he will be able to prepare our team to win the next World Cup in Britain,” Sumathipala said. “He was the best among the 12 candidates considered for the post.”

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2016