NEW arrival Michael Foley has paid tribute to his boss Jon Callard, claiming the former England full-back's "heart and soul is Bath."

Rec number two Foley, who joined the club earlier this month, hailed Callard as a man of great integrity and believes nobody is feeling the pain of the club's poor league performances.

And the former Australian hooker insists the whole squad are united behind their coach as they attempt to climb out of the Premiership trouble zone.

"JC's heart and soul is Bath, he loves the place," said Foley. "He feels it as much as the players do.

"When the team loses or doesn't play as well as he thinks they can, it affects him."

Foley's appointment as Callard's assistant was a radical break from the past for Bath, who had always previously been known for recruiting from within their own ranks.

But the 50-cap Wallaby believes it was a bold move that he hopes will pay off handsomely for the club.

"They have been realistic enough about it to say what they need to do and that there is a lot of work that needs to be done as quickly as possible," added Foley.

"We have to try and provide the most conducive environment to see the players performing at their best."

Meanwhile, the Queenslander, whose wife Marnie and children Declan, 5, and Grace, 1, join him in Bath this week, has confirmed that he won't be seen on the field of play in a Bath shirt.

Revealing he had left his boots in the Millennium Stadium changing rooms after making his last appearance for the Wallabies against the Barbarians in Cardiff at the end of last month, Foley said: "The amount of time I had to spend to be at my best on the field was becoming a burden.

"I always want to be in a position to help the club when I can and that's going to take a lot of effort and time looking at preparation and things like that. I couldn't do the team justice by going out there.

"It's my job to help make sure the rest of the team is at their best so it is worth compromising the very small chance of me playing for that.

"It's never an easy decision to make to come from the other side of the world but this opportunity was out of this world."