Salford were placed back in special measures by the RFL, with a £1.2m salary cap limit, yesterday (Tuesday) after February’s wages went unpaid, despite the recent club takeover.
Under a similar restriction last month, coach Paul Rowley sent a reserves side to St Helens for Betfred Super League round one, resulting in a record 82-0 defeat.
Salford’s senior players are understood to have been considering striking until they are paid, putting Friday’s match in doubt, but most now look set to take to the field against Tigers.
Though Paul Rowley has named only 17 players in his squad for the game, all were in the initial 20 for last Thursday’s 42-0 defeat at Hull KR.
Speaking today before the Red Devils’ squad was revealed, McGuire insisted: “We are preparing for the best Salford team.
“We are doing everything possible to make sure we are in a position to play well. All the other things are out of my control.
“We have had a really good training day today, we’ve prepared and practiced really well and we are just getting ready to play on Friday.”
Tigers are desperate for a win to get off the mark in Super League, but McGuire stressed he didn’t want a repeat of round one.
“We are just preparing for Salford’s best,” he said. “They have got some really good players and I don’t think anybody wants to see the game that happened first up against St Helens.
“I understood where they were at, the process Salford went through, but I don’t think anybody wants to see that again.
“The restrictions of £1.2m means they can field a relatively strong team, still with some good players in there.
“Our salary cap probably wouldn’t be too much higher than that, so that seems more viable. I didn’t think [what happened against St Helens] was fair for the game, but our focus this week is about learning and working on some of the things we didn’t quite get right in the Leeds game last week, fixing them up and preparing to play on Friday.”
Salford seemed to be out of the woods when the takeover was approved last month and McGuire admitted he has sympathy for Friday’s opponents.
Our Round 4 squad 👇 pic.twitter.com/mKlAzL3URf
— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) March 5, 2025
“I’d hate to be in their shoes, I feel for the players and coaches,” he said. “I feel for the Salford fans as well, they are passionate and just want to support the team.
“Obviously behind the scenes it is a bit of a mess, so I get it. I wish them well, everybody wants to see a successful, well-run Salford team.
“I think they add to the competition, but we just have to be prepared and ready for whatever’s thrown at us.”
Castleford Tigers also have their on-field problems after four successive defeats in the Challenge Cup and Super League.
McGuire said they are down to 21 available players after on-loan winger Lee Kershaw was recalled by Hull KR and Jeremiah Simbiken picked up a two-match suspension.
“Lee has gone back to KR, they recalled him,” McGuire confirmed. “I thought he did a decent job for us.
“He needed some game time and if further down the line we still need some experience and a body in that area it’s something we could look at, but not at the moment.
“I am not a big fan of two-week loans. I don’t think they are great for team dynamics. We lost Louis Senior and Jason Qareqare and needed a bit of cover.
“Some of our younger players aren’t quite ready to be exposed to first team rugby at the minute so we had to dip into the loan market, but my preference now is somebody who’s committed a bit longer-term. That’s not to say we won’t look short-term, we may have to at the minute.”
Scrum-half Rowan Milnes could make his first appearance of 2025 after a knee injury. The Castleford Tigers boss stated: “He has trained today and we’re going to see how he reacts tomorrow.
“My gut instinct is it is probably a week too soon, but we might be in a position where we have to push him quicker than we want to.
“We’ll make that call tomorrow, it would be a bit of a risk if he did play, but we may have to take that.”
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Anonymous
March 5, 2025 at 5:00 pm
At last a RL coach who has got RL game at heart, unlike some others; let’s hope your chairman has got your back and agrees with you , unlike black and whites chairman who shall be nameless.
Well done Maquire.!