Guy Goodes has been appointed assistant-coach of the Great Britain basketball team.

His first task will be to prepare the squad for the Eurobasket 2013 European Championships in Slovenia, with Britain’s opening match against Israel on September 4.

Goodes has been working as assistant-coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv but says there are no split loyalties ahead of the game.

"I'll be doing everything in my power to help Britain win the game,” he said. “But I want both teams to advance to the next stage."

Ukraine, France, Belgium and Germany complete the group.

Following an illustrious career as a point guard with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israel, Goodes, 43, has coached several top Israeli teams, including Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Rishon Lezion.

He had applied for the post of Britain’s head coach to replace Chris Finch, but was beaten to the post by NBA stalwart Joe Prunty.

Goodes, who also holds a UK passport, said he was not too proud to take the assistant-coach job and is honoured to work alongside Prunty.

"It's true I wanted to be head coach, but this will open doors for me for future work with national teams," Goodes said. "You can't always walk straight through the front door."

Goodes will return to Maccabi Tel Aviv in October and goes to Britain with the blessing of the club who see him as a future successor to their own head coach David Blatt.