Wakefield Trinity CEO Michael Carter says relegation is a chance to ‘reset’

Current Wakefield Trinity CEO Michael Carter has outlined his belief that the club’s relegation to the Championship is an opportunity to ‘reset’. 

Speaking to Sky Sports following his side’s loss to Leigh Leopards, which ultimately confirmed their relegation, Carter said: “Yeah I mean it’s a chance for us now to reset. We’ve got to build on players that want to play for the club that have shown tonight that they want to pull that shirt on and make the club proud; so this gives us a chance to reset.”

Wakefield will be aiming to come straight back into Super League next season, especially with IMG’s new grading criteria coming in from the 2025 season; but Carter was quick to point out some of the aspects that could help their grade next season, including the fan base. “We’ve got to build a team around those lads that have played tonight, and ultimately get the fans to stick with us because look at the IMG route back to Super League; fandom is a massive part of that so our hard core, you’ve got to stick with us; we’ll be sticking together, we’ll be rebuilding and there’ll be announcements of plenty over the next couple of weeks.”

Another big area of the IMG criteria is a club’s stadium. Belle Vue has undergone plenty of development this season with the installation of a new stand, which Carter suggested would be fully operational by next season. “We’re not too far off opening the whole development now,” he said.

He added: “I mean nobody could have envisaged how hard it’s been to work around a building site for over a year now so again that’s been a real sort of battle that we’ve had to go on with but it’s nearly finished, it looks great and it’ll be a great facility for next year and the years beyond.”

Elsewhere in the interview with Sky Sports, Carter highlighted how a large percentage of the group had already committed for next season. “I think we’ve got about 18, 19 already committed for next year,” he said. “Obviously some will fall by the wayside as well, that’s the nature of the sport that we’re in at this point in time, but we are determined to build a side and a team and a squad that will make Wakefield Trinity proud next year and bounce back at the first attempt.”