Smith has been a powerful success since taking up at Glasgow in 2022.

He led the membership to the European Problem Cup closing in his first season, delivered a rare United Rugby Championship title success in his second, and whereas accidents took a toll final season, Warriors nonetheless reached the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and the final 4 within the URC.

Smith has been linked with different jobs all through the season – most notably the vacant Wales head coach place – and has completed little to quell discuss that he’s searching for a contemporary problem.

“We actually like all three coaches now we have received on the boys’s aspect and we would love to retain them,” Williamson stated.

“So these conversations are ones I’m having now and can proceed over the approaching weeks. However on the subject of Franco particularly, he’s a incredible coach. He has completed a fully unbelievable job and I actually, actually hope that he can be staying.

“I’m really delighted that he’s getting approached and that persons are speaking about him as being a coach for different folks as a result of we wish the perfect coaches in Scotland and it could be frankly fairly disappointing if nobody was speaking about somebody as top quality as him.

“I feel that we provide a consistency and a readability of plan that he can be good in and I’m actually hopeful that he can be with us.”

Smith is seen by many as an apparent substitute for Townsend, however Williamson insists such succession planning has not been mentioned.

“I do not assume that we essentially must be taking a look at our teaching group and saying that we’re creating the bench for those who like to interchange gaps once they come up at any degree,” he stated.

“I feel that we simply wish to ensure in that second that we recruit the one who could be very greatest for that function.

“Once we are excited about how we create a pathway that’s going to end in us being extremely aggressive in 2031 and 2035, or 2029 and 2033 for the women, we completely should nail that by way of the continuity round our teaching as a result of that’s what will breed confidence in our gamers.

“Having Franco right here is a vital a part of that. However equally, I feel Sean Everett has completed an excellent job on the again finish of the season. I feel he’s very pleased with the best way that group grew and I’m excited to see how he goes with a really younger participant group subsequent 12 months.”