Lee Mossop will put 10 years of friendship to one side, for 80 minutes at least, when he makes his debut for Salford against his old club Wigan today.

The former England international opted to cut his ties with the Warriors after losing his place towards the end of last season and joined the Red Devils on a 12-month deal.

The 28-year-old prop still had 12 months left to run on the three-year deal he signed on his return to Wigan from his ill-fated move to NRL club Parramatta but did not feature in the last six weeks of the 2016 season culminating in their Grand Final triumph.

“It was probably the last thing I ever wanted to do and the hardest but it was something I had to do for my career,” said Mossop, who is hoping the move can help him win back his England spot.

“There were eight or nine front rowers who could be starting at Wigan and we were sharing the minutes. Before I left for Parramatta, I was playing 60 or 65 minutes every week and I was playing for England.

“I wanted to get that back and I thought if I was ever going to realise that England potential again I had to make a change.”

By a curious twist of fate, Mossop will go up against his old teammates first up and that has created mixed feelings for the Cumbrian who joined Wigan as a youngster at the same time as Sam Tomkins, Liam Farrell and Michael McIlorum.

“They’re blokes I trained and played with for 10 years, so it’ll definitely be weird but exciting as well,” said Mossop, who still lives within walking distance of Wigan’s training ground at Orrell.

“The ones I came through the system with are my best mates, there’s six or seven of us who all came through as one group and nothing has really changed, when I get home from training I meet up with them for a coffee.

“No doubt they will be trying to give me a hiding on Saturday and I’ll be trying to get them back but, after the match, we’ll shake hands and be best mates again.”

Today’s match pits the reigning champions against the team that went within seconds of being relegated to the Championship but Mossop says he has had his eyes opened by the professionalism of the Red Devils under coaches Ian Watson and Martin Gleeson.

“It’s sort of shocked me in a lot of aspects,” Mossop said. “From the outside, you hear things about maybe everyone being laid back or selfishness in the group but I couldn’t be more wrong.

“All the players are really honest and train hard and there’s no egos. Watto and Gleese are fantastic, they are real honest with you and, if you’re not doing it in training you will know about it, which is what all players want.”

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