Former Bath coach Mike Ford has declared Toulon 'the greatest club in Europe' and vowed to stamp his mark on the French giants in his new role as backs coach.

As revealed by Sportsmail last week, Ford has joined the Top 14 side after leaving his role at the Recreation Ground at the end of last season following a disappointing ninth-place finish in the Aviva Premiership.

Ford will play a leading role with Toulon, working alongside Italian head coach Diego Dominguez with a world-class squad at his disposal. Despite the huge amount of talent available to them, Dominguez's side have had a mixed start to the new season with just three wins from their six league games so far.

Mike Ford (left) declared Toulon as 'the greatest club in Europe' at his official unveiling

Ford has joined French giants Toulon after leaving English side Bath at the end of last season

'Toulon is the greatest club in Europe, it is an honour for me,' Ford told French media at his first press conference.

'Me and Diego have had several chats about how the game should be played and what it takes to win in this competition.

'There are already some good things in place and I'm going to try to improve things little by little so that we become a machine.'

Ford led Bath to the 2015 Premiership final but the following season unraveled for his side with things not helped by the circus surrounding failed rugby league convert Sam Burgess.

Ford led Bath to the Aviva Premiership final in 2015, playing an exciting brand of rugby

Ford will now work with a Toulon squad which contains some of the best players in the world

The 50-year-old, who has also worked at international level with England, will have responsibility for attack, defence and Toulon's overall game-plan.

Ford's work with Bath saw them cut their opposition to ribbons when they were at their best and he'll hope to bring that expansive style to French rugby.

In the likes of Ma'a Nonu, Matt Giteau, Leigh Halfpenny and Bryan Habana, Toulon have some of the best backs in world rugby available to them.