“The money needs to drop” – Paul Rowley uncertain on his future with Salford Red Devils

After joining the club in 2019, Salford Red Devils boss Paul Rowley has no idea what his future holds, and Friday night’s fixture against Wakefield Trinity could be his last as head coach of the club.

After a torrid season full of player exits, delayed wages and failed promises, the end is near for Rowley’s Red Devils.

After already admitting Friday will be an “emotional night” for everyone involved at the club, the 50-year-old has today said he doesn’t know what’s next in his career, with his full focus on getting his side to the end of the season.

Rowley was asked this week if he had made any decision on his future, and if so where his next role would take him, be that still at Salford or elsewhere. He made no admission on anything concrete, after insisting it had not been in his priorities.

“I’ve made no decisions at all,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “My only decision is to give my best to this club. I’m contracted to this club and I wouldn’t let my mind drift elsewhere. It’s been an emotional season, it’s been an emotional journey, and I’m in for an emotional night on Friday.

“I can’t give anything less than 100% to this cause at the minute, and then like I said before, when I get a chance to get a breath and when I see what cards I have been dealt, and that the club’s been dealt, then they can make some choices and decisions or they might not have choices, but I can work out what my path will be.

“I’ve got faith in myself and I’ve got faith that things happen for a reason as they always say. So, I’m weirdly chilled, and I guess that’s just because I’ve got a good support network around me.

Asked whether we would see him as a Super League coach again, the Red Devils boss replied:

“I’ve got a really open mind and dead chilled, so I’ll just get to that finish line. That was my objective, but you know I’ll recover pretty quick. [After a holiday] I’ll be bouncing in no time and we’ll just see what the future brings.”

Salford Red Devils boss open to staying at club despite traumatic year

After such adversity over the course of the year, nobody would have blamed him for exiting the club, especially once the season is over. However, the passion and love he has for the club cannot be underestimated, after admitting he is open to staying at the club should the opportunity arise.

He said: “I’ll keep an open mind on everything. I’ll let everything pan out and then I’ll see and I’ll play with the cards I’ve been dealt at that particular time.

“I know sometimes it’s hard to believe but I really have took it one day at a time and that’s kind of what I’ll continue to do until Friday’s out of the way. Then I’ll take a deep breath and see what’s out there I guess or what’s in here, see how this one pans out.

“Nobody’s got a crystal ball, but I’m quite open minded to everything here or whatever. My concern is just getting these lads to the finish line and then obviously Salford lining up in whatever that looks looks like next year and representing the city in the way that it should be.”

Salford were not one of the nine teams in contention for the 13th and 14th spots in the expanded Super League competition in 2026, which came as a shock to most given their current state and inevitable decrease in scores in the IMG ranking. Should the Red Devils  not be in the top 12, they will be demoted to the Championship

Asked again whether would be open to coaching the Red Devils in the revamped second tier, he replied:

“I’m interested in everything. That’s what I said. I’ll assess all the cards that have been dealt, I just want Salford to be alive first, get past the finish line, be alive. ‘What league are we in?’ ‘What will our budget be?’ All these questions are irrelevant if the money doesn’t drop. The money just needs to drop one way or another.

“The focus needs to be on having a club, and all the rest is irrelevant. The club’s bigger than everybody, me, any player, the club is the only thing that matters.”

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