Salford Red Devils CEO Chris Irwin has vowed there will be no issues ensuring the club’s players and staff receive their wages for March.
The Betfred Super League outfit were plunged back into crisis by delays in February’s payroll being met, resulting in the Red Devils being placed back under a £1.2million sustainability cap.
However, Irwin is adamant the debacle will not be repeated this month following assurances from the ownership consortium led by Swiss investment banker Dario Berta.
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“I’ve spoken to the owners and they’ve assured me there will be a significant amount of money in the account to ensure payroll is met this month,” Irwin told BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.
“We don’t want the same thing that happened last month.
“It was embarrassing for the club and obviously it was played out in the media, and more so than that it affects peoples lives which me, as CEO of the club, I never want to see staff players and coaches worried about mortgage payments and bills.
“It’s important the owners ensure that money is in our account on time this month and everyone gets paid on time.”
While Irwin is confident paying wages will not be an issue again, the Red Devils still remain in special measures while needing to repay an advance in central distribution they were given by Rugby League Commercial.
Discussions are ongoing between Berta’s consortium and Salford City Council over developing Salford Community Stadium and the land surrounding it, which Irwin stated a significant part of the funding in place is tied to.
Salford’s owners had previously claimed the delay in paying February’s wages was caused by money coming from overseas awaiting regulatory clearance.
Half-back Marc Sneyd and forward Brad Singleton have both departed to Super League rivals Warrington Wolves and Castleford Tigers respectively, while Tim Lafai is returning to Australia for family reasons, and Irwin conceded other players could be leaving soon as well.
He admitted his own frustrations about the situation Salford have found themselves in, but reiterated his backing for the ownership group.
“I completely understand everyone’s frustrations – I’m frustrated by it,” Irwin said. “But I’ve got every faith in the owners.
“They’re here doing the right things and having the right meetings with the RFL and Super League and the city council, it’s just slower than expected.
“That’s a shame for everyone, but I’m sure once the money does land it will be forgotten quite quickly.
On the field, Salford finally claimed their first success of the 2025 Super League season at the fifth time of asking with an 23-10 victory at home to winless Huddersfield Giants on Thursday night, and are through to the quarter-finals of the Betfred Challenge Cup.
Irwin does not believe their place in Super League will be hampered by the current issues though and even expects their IMG score to be improved above the 13.97 which saw them narrowly retain their place in the top division for 2025 ahead of Toulouse Olympique.
“A lot of the points for this year will be reflected from last year’s performance off-field, so we won’t be too far hindered,” Irwin said.
“We finished fourth in the league and had a good go last year, so I don’t think we’ll drop too many points in IMG.
“We’re hopeful we’ll actually lift our points up eventually, so we’ve just got to keep working hard and do the things we can control.
“We’ve got a thriving future, I’ve got no doubt about that. The opportunity this club has and the potential it has is massive.”
