Jon Wilkin and Paul Rowley’s thoughts on emotional toll of Salford wage issues

Jon Wilkin and Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley discussed the emotional toll that not being paid takes on both players and staff.

The pair chatted at length about Salford’s situation right now before Sky Sport’s broadcast of the Leigh Leopards and Catalans Dragons game.

Rowley gave an honest assessment of where Salford are at right now but insisted that the playing group is sticking together.

Talking about the emotional toll it’s taken on the players, he said: “It’s very hard to put into words because it is a unique situation.

“I know people have had situations where they’ve not been paid or there have been periods of uncertainty.

“We spent a full pre-season where it’s been very quiet, they’ve not had an arm put around them and no one has asked about the players other than from within.

“Obviously, we’ve become the centre of attention within the last three weeks or so but they’re all human beings with mortgages to pay so it is distracting.

“I just want to get back to playing. I can’t speak highly enough of the players though.”

When asked if he’s worried if players will walk out of the club, he remained positive about how they’ve stuck together as a group.

He said: “I’m not worried. I was worried in the initial but I just think to come on the journey of the last three or four months to get to this point, it’d be a shame to get all this way and give up at the end.

“I’m standing tall and I’ll stand in front of them players, they’ve been fantastic and continue to be.

Rowley was full of praise for his captain Kallum Watkins and said they’re very aligned in particular.

When asked by pundit Jon Wilkin if he could attribute their performance against Hull KR to their situation, Rowley replied: “Probably a lot but I kind of don’t want to as well.”

Wilkin also asked if he was scared of victim mentality amongst his players and staff.

Rowley admitted that he was but insisted everyone at the club is trying to keep their heads up.

He continued: “I’m proud to represent Salford, I love what I do and I know the players are as well and the group, we’re really tight and we’ve got a really special group.

“It’s a great journey that we’ve been on and a great story if we can come through the other end.”

Former Saints player Jon Wilkin was sympathetic with Rowley and Salford having been through a similar situation himself.

Wilkin: “It’s understandable, I’ve been in that situation with Toronto where we didn’t get paid.

“The impact is that it’s almost impossible to perform in those situations, they’re waiting for money.

“You’re talking about being paid. I played at St Helens for 16 years, and I never once questioned being paid.

“I went to Toronto and every month was a lottery.

“It’s seriously detrimental to perform, almost impossible to perform, but Salford have known about their financial trouble for some time, it’s not a new issue.”

Rowley debated with Wilkin about the situation as well as their performance the previous night.

He finished: “It’s the focus, Jon, isn’t it? Because I know that yesterday was payday. The WhatsApp groups would’ve been going off and there’s chat and different attention to detail that should all be about the game.

“It should be a nice, quiet build-up to a game but there’s chat and there’s a distraction. You’re a step away or a second late to a contact, it looks ugly and you’re quite right.

“It was ugly, it was horrible, I hated it and that’s what it’s about. Every individual player and myself as staff, we’re all our own brand.

“I know it’s a team sport but we represent ourselves and our standards need to be higher.

“To do that, you need to be player-focused so that’s the challenge.”

Salford next travel to fellow strugglers Castleford Tigers so will be hoping to get a decent performance under their belt.