GLASGOW Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend has agreed a one-year extension to his contract, which was due to expire at the end of the season.

The 42-year-old’s deal now runs until the summer of 2017.

Townsend is the third senior figure to commit to Scottish Rugby for the next 18 months.

His Edinburgh counterpart Alan Solomons also signed a one-year extension last week, while Scotland head coach Vern Cotter agreed the same extension back in August.

“I’m very excited to be able to continue my role with the Warriors,” Townsend said yesterday.

"Being offered the job in 2012 was a huge honour and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with everyone at the club. The investment from Scottish Rugby, both in the team and facilities at Scotstoun, have played a vital role in our success.

"And I firmly believe that there is a lot more to come from this group of players - their work ethic and desire to improve has me very optimistic about the future.

“It’s a great place to work. I love the people I’m working with. And what the players especially have done over the last three years - I really want to stay here and build on that,

Since Townsend took over from Sean Lineen, the Warriors have improved their league performance every season. They finished third in the PRO12 in 2012-13, a position higher than the previous season, though they again lost in the play-off semi-finals.

The following season they came second, and lost the final to Leinster. Then last season they finished top of the table, and in May won the final with a memorable victory over Munster in Belfast.

That success has inevitably attracted the interest of clubs in other countries, and speculation had been growing that Townsend would go abroad - something he did as a player. After starting out with Gala during the last days of amateurism, he went on to play in England for Northampton then moved to France and also played briefly in South Africa.

He is still expected to move further afield sooner rather than later, but for the time being Scottish Rugby is simply happy to have him on board for a further season after this one, as chief executive Mark Dodson said yesterday. “We are delighted to have retained Gregor’s services up to the end of the 2017 season,” Dodson said. “After Glasgow Warriors became the first Scottish team in the professional era to win a major trophy it was only natural Gregor’s talents would be of interest to other clubs.

“We maintain a constant dialogue with our coaches and believe he remains the right person to take the Warriors forward and consolidate their recent success. He has created a consistent winning culture at Scotstoun and that is benefitting both the club and the players he works with.”

Townsend will name his team this afternoon for tomorrow’s crunch European Cup match against the Scarlets at Scotstoun. Both the Warriors and the Welsh team are trailing behind Northampton and Racing 92 in Pool 3, from which only the winners are guaranteed to go through to the quarter-finals. Glasgow have lost their only game so far, at home to Northampton, and are bottom of the pool with no points. The Scarlets have lost twice, to the English club and also to Racing, but are above Glasgow thanks to a single bonus point for a narrow defeat.

The Scarlets announced on Wednesday that DTH van der Merwe, who they signed from Glasgow in the summer, will miss tomorrow’s match because of a thumb injury. John Barclay, another former Warrior, will also miss out with a shoulder injury.