Neil Henry has been appointed as Gold Coast coach, signing a three-year deal with the embattled NRL club.  

The 53-year-old, who has been the Titans’ interim coach for a month, has landed the role despite suffering three defeats from three matches since replacing John Cartwright in early August.

It’s Henry’s third NRL coaching position after five seasons with North Queensland and two years at the helm of Canberra.

Henry will be just the second coach in Titans’ history following the resignation of foundation coach Cartwright.

The appointment means Sunday’s final round home match against Canterbury will be Henry’s first official fixture as full-time coach.

Since taking over from Cartwright, Henry has overseen losses to Manly, St George Illawarra and a 42-0 thumping by the Warriors in Auckland last weekend which was the first time in the Titans’ brief history they have failed to score in a fixture.

Henry faces plenty of challenges as he aims to rebuild a club set to miss out on the finals for a fourth consecutive season.

Veteran Luke Bailey announced on Monday he’ll retire at the end of the season while club stalwart Mark Minichiello is also leaving to join English Super League club Hull.

Former Queensland backrower Ash Harrison has already left, retiring earlier in the season due to a serious neck injury.

The club is also undergoing a full review of its operations amid rumours a perilous financial position means Cartwright couldn’t spend the entire salary cap in the past two years.

Henry will at least be well acquainted with any issues that exist after joining the Titans as an assistant coach this season following his sacking by the Cowboys at the end of the 2013 campaign.