Everything Salford Red Devils’ CEO said on the club, their finances and their future in huge update

Salford Red Devils’ CEO Chris Irwin has fronted up and spoken on the club’s current issues and here’s everything he said.

Irwin deserves immense praise for how he has fronted up with the newly-appointed CEO thrown into a situation and sold a false promise, just as the Salford Red Devils fans had been.

Returning to his local club to manage them in what he’d been told would be a new era where the forever cash-strapped club would have huge funds, the Red Devils are now in an even more concerning position.

Player exits have been used to try and cut costs whilst player wages have also been paid late, on two occasions. In an honest and open interview on Sky Sports ahead of his side’s clash with Leeds Rhinos, Chris Irwin fronted the questions to give us the most comprehensive update on the club and their financial issues to date.

Here’s everything that the Salford Red Devils CEO said.

Salford Red Devils CEO speaks out in honest interview

Will the sale of players continue or has it come to an end?

CI: “Yeah we’re working through this at the moment. The owners have asked me to kind of keep the club on a lifeline at the moment, which I’m doing. My job at the moment is to control what I can do and that is to manage the club’s budgets, bring costs down significantly because we were operating far beyond our means and that’s what I’m doing at the moment until the significant funds are available.”

How has that left your relationship with the playing group?

CI: “I’ve got a really strong relationship with the coaches and the playing group. They see me as an in-between of them and the owners really. And I think for the large part they feel for me, because I’m just passing on the information from the owners.

“They understand I’m doing what I have to in passing on the information from the owners, they understand I’m doing what I have to do to protect the long-term and short-term interests of this rugby league club.”

How do you react to seeing players talk about how tough it is?

CI: “It’s really sad, Brian. I’m seeing it every day with the players, they are going through the mill with it, it’s an incredibly challenging time as it is for all of the staff, and when you see a squad that was built being taken away from them and friends leaving, it’s really sad, and I feel it each time I move a player on.

“It’s a situation that we’re in at the moment, it’s a situation that I was brought in and I wasn’t expecting this when I came in, but it’s something I have to deal with and take control of to protect the interests of this club.”

How close are you to the budget that you’re working on?

CI: “Well, we’re right on the wire, every month we’re right on the wire in terms of cash, yeah. So they’re drip-feeding money into us as and when we need it until the large funds arrive, and until that does, I’ll cut the cloth accordingly and do what I can do to ensure that this club keeps playing, keeps going on to the pitch, and ensures that the fixtures continue.”

Who owns the club? Who are the individuals?

CI: “It’s a consortium and there’s two guys heading up the consortium, Saia (Kailahi) and Curtis (Brown).”

Are they the men with the money?

CI: “No, there’s investors behind them, with the funds. Listen, these people in Switzerland, in LA, they’re not rugby league people. I think their interest is this, the stadium, the land around it, the development. They’re looking to put a hotel on the ground, a children’s room hotel, an indoor sports arena. So that’s what their interests are and we’re the caveat for that now.

Is that not alarming?

CI: “Yeah so we’ll get 20% of the stadiums as a club, so that gives us more security than we’ve ever had before. Under the previous ownership, the matchday income was next to nothing. We didn’t get any food and beverage, we didn’t get any of the revenue that came with the catering and food and advertising rights. So we’ll get that, we’ll access those funds at that point.”

You wrote a letter on February 7th confirming debts were cleared, is that a fact?

CI: “No, I was ill advised at that point by the owners, part of the agreement when they came in was to clear all debts and the funds were due to hand imminently. Unfortunately, that’s not been the case and I can only apologize for it.”

Is the money genuinely held up by banking issues?

CI: “That’s what I’ve been told from the owners and that’s all I’ve got to go on really.”

What have you done to find out if that is true?

CI: “I’ve just asked the questions and seen transactions from the owners to the banks and chatting with Tony Sutton, who has seen the transactions themselves. That’s all I can go off really, and take the word in the trust of the owners. I can fully appreciate why people would be skeptical.”

Who was the statement of the 27th March, which implored commitment to stability, aimed at?

CI: “I think we’ve all got responsibility here. I’ve got responsibility to ensure that our club continues to run and cut out cloth accordingly. We’re asking investors to ensure that we do have the funds and we can do that in an effective way.”

Is the club in safe hands?

CI: “Yeah the club is in safe hands and I’ll ensure that. Worst case scenario if nobody comes in I’ll ensure that by cutting the cloth accordingly and ensuring that we run in a way that’s sustainable for the future and that’s what I’m working on at the moment. I can only do what I can control.

“I’m fully with those fans, I’m heartbroken by the situation that I’m in. I came in to this job with the premise that these funds were going to be here and I could build this business.”

Will you make payroll this month?

CI: “I’ve been assured by the owners who came and spoke to the players on Tuesday and the staff that that would be the case.”

Did the owners directly fund last month’s payroll?

CI: “They did, yes. The new owners gave the money, yes.”

Is it ‘rich’ from the owners to ‘lecture’ players on their attitude and commitment?

CI: “Yeah it was a tough conversation, it wasn’t easy for anyone in the room. I think what the owners are trying to say is the sacrifices that they’ve made, they’ve been in the country for nine months to try and ensure this deal.”

Are you happy to keep speaking on behalf of those owners?

“I will continue to fight for this club and the future and the safeguard of this rugby league club which is as close to my heart as to these fans here.”