Featherstone Rovers admit they face ‘uncertain’ time this winter
Featherstone Rovers are bracing themselves for what they see as a “difficult and uncertain winter”.
The Post Office Road club have admitted facing major financial problems which will see them having to do a big rebuild on and off the pitch.
After weeks of silence, with their website down, Rovers released a statement on social media outlining the problems being faced, including several bills not being paid and a HMRC winding up petition to fight.
The statement was made on behalf of the “board of directors” and thanked fans for their support and patience before going on to explain what has been happening behind the scenes.
It said: "Almost overnight we have had to pick up and try and discover what was left at Post Office Road. This has been no easy task and it is one of the reasons we haven’t communicated as we were unsure with what we were dealing with.
"In lots of ways, we still don’t have a full view of the situation we face. Information is scarce and we there has been no management of accounts.
"The club faces a difficult and uncertain winter, this much is true. Tough decisions will need to be made.
"Some choices may be taken out of our hands, but we will update you on each step taken where we can.
“Numerous bills have not been paid and we are discovering contracts that don’t make commercial sense. Promises have been made that are impossible to fulfil. People, good people, have been lied to and we are trying our hardest to rectify this.
"We will endeavour to speak to every supplier and sponsor over the next few weeks to ensure that any current deals already in place can continue in the future.
"The good will of you as fans, players (past and present), employees, sponsors, suppliers and the rugby league community has been taken for granted and burned. This is not something the new board want to continue and we are focused on providing transparency when we are able to do so.”
Rovers admitted they were “embarrassed” that the club’s recently published IMG score had an asterisk next to it, due to the upcoming HMRC case, with Fev ranked 17th with a total of 9.75.
The statement continued: “With recent IMG gradings released by the RFL we are embarrassed by having the asterix (*) next to our name on the table but we are fully focused on resolving this matter as soon as possible so that we can continue into next season.
“It is a huge job to rebuild and we are having to take some backwards steps to clear the decks first but we are committed to taking the club forward. We are committed to Featherstone Rovers and the future and success of this club.”
On the pitch, six players from Featherstone Rovers Women’s Team have helped England Community Lions to make it three wins from three games to triumph in the Tri-Nations series with Angel Bentley, Alyssa Courtney, Liv Grace, Hannah Watt, Katie Evans and Dani Waters featuring against Wanderers Australia, Scotland and Jamaica.