ST HELENS owner Eamonn McManus believes that rugby league can recover as a sport between 2-4 years.
Nigel Wood has been brought back to the RFL as interim chairman, with Simon Johnson stepping down alongside three directors.
There is a new direction of change happening at the governing body, with McManus speaking out in support of Wood over the weekend in a powerful statement.
The Saints owner, who has been at the helm of the Merseyside club for over decades, believes that the sport is at a crossroads.
“If you are looking at us doing it in our existing state on a stand-alone basis and looking to trim costs whereby it is still an attractive and viable competition and increase revenues, you are probably looking at a 2-4 year period,” McManus told Sky Sports’ The Bench podcast.
“That overlaps with the next TV broadcast deal which is critically important to us. That in its own right will determine how we cut our cloth thereafter because we cannot continue as is.
“If we bring in a strategic partner whether it’s the NRL or any other institution out there which are capable of doing it – and there are – that could short circuit it.
“Deals like that are complex, time consuming and may or may not happen. We need to sort our own house first.”
McManus is keen to get the right people at the top to ensure the past three or four years are not replicated.
“I’m always optimistic you’ve got to be but you can only be optimistic if you’ve got the right people alongside you in the club and as a sport and that’s all we’re looking for.
“The last three or four years haven’t panned out how we wanted them to do but we’ve got to ensure the next three or four do. We’ve got to get the right calibre of people into the sport.”
So how has McManus ever been tempted to walk away from rugby league?
“My wife tries to tell me to do so! But, of course not, I’ve devoted my life to this club and as have many in the sport.
“You don’t get into it if you’re going to walk away. It doesn’t attract that sort of person – certainly on an ownership level.”
When it came to St Helens’ losses, McManus preferred to concentrate on the sport-wide financial issues being faced.
“I’ve addressed that when talking about losses of all clubs which are now annually £2 million a year.
“It’s something we will not be able to sustain forever. I have the confidence within our club with strong shareholders, but even the strongest shareholders have limited patience.
“The same applies to all Super League clubs – you can’t talk about St Helens in isolation here. There has to be a turnaround.”
