Former Salford coach says club should be relegated after ’embarrassing’ season

Former Salford coach Karl Harrison has surveyed the wreckage at Super League’s crisis club and admitted: “It’s hugely embarrassing – they need to be relegated.”

Paul Rowley’s side, decimated further by the departure of Ryan Brierley and Jack Ormondroyd, were stuffed 80-6 at Hull FC on Sunday with a team full of youngsters and loan players.

While furious Red Devils fans in the stands chanted “you’re not fit to own the club” at their owners, social media was in uproar at the shambles that unfolded on the pitch.

Sky Sports pundit Kyle Amor called out Salford’s owners and the Rugby Football League live on air, branding the governing body “too weak to govern”.

Salford will always have a special place in Harrison’s heart after his memorable five-year spell in charge which included promotion to Super League and a first-ever play-off campaign.

The ex-Great Britain prop told Love Rugby League: “I don’t know the full details of who is in charge of Salford and how they managed to become owners.

“But Sunday’s game at Hull FC was embarrassing for the Super League competition and for British rugby league. Salford’s first game of the season was an 82-0 defeat at St Helens, so the writing was on the wall then.

“I don’t know how this has been allowed to go on because as a spectator sport, rugby league fans want to see competitive games.

“I barely recognised any of the Salford players and to throw youngsters into elite rugby league – the toughest combat sport in the world – is just not right.

“Is there a player welfare issue here? Without a doubt. Yes, young players will always get come in and make their debuts, but they shouldn’t be playing every single week.

“The younger players need to be looked after – physically and mentally – and how Paul Rowley has held it all together I don’t know.

“He speaks with real dignity, he never criticises anyone, and I went to Salford a few weeks ago to see my son James play against them for Warrington.

“Some of the stories I heard were horrendous and there have been no answers from anyone at Salford or the RFL. If these owners had no money, how on earth were they ratified by the RFL?”

Ex-England coach Harrison believes Rowley – his former Halifax team-mate – will stick it out until the end of the season.

But he feels Salford should have been removed from Super League at the start of the year when their financial crisis became apparent.

“Paul’s a very proud man and has got the best interests of everybody at heart,” added Harrison.

“I’ve got nothing but love for him but you could see on Sunday that even Paul is getting to the end of his tether now.

“It’s soul-destroying to see what he’s had to put up with this season because he’s a quality coach and what he’s done has been immense.

“But wouldn’t it have been better to take Salford out of the competition earlier this season, nullifying any results and giving teams a bye weekend?

“What’s gone on – with players not getting paid and the powers that be not providing any answers – has been disgraceful.

“It just seems strange that the RFL have allowed them to keep playing under such terrible conditions. Who in their right mind would let them carry on as it is?

“If you’re trying to attract new sponsors to the game, how bad does it look? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as bad as this in rugby league.”

If Salford manage to limp through to the end of the season, and survive off the field, it seems inevitable they will start 2026 in the Championship.

Harrison stated: “I think they need to be relegated – whether they finish bottom or not.

“They need to rebuild and earn the right to come back up.”

Harrison was appointed as Salford coach in 2002 and, although he was unable to keep them in Super League that year, he guided them to immediate promotion and the Reds reached the play-offs for the first time in 2006 after finishing fifth.

He was sacked in May 2007 but looks back at his five-year tenure with great pride.

“I’ll always be forever grateful for Steve Simms, the football manager at the time, for putting my name forward for the job – and John Wilkinson, the former chairman, for giving me the opportunity,” said Harrison.

“In rugby league, coaches always get sacked but I left Salford with my head held high and nobody could have done any better.

“I got sacked because of injuries and results, they brought Shaun McRae in and still got relegated but Shaun brought them straight back up again.

“I’ll never ever have a bad word to say about Salford – it was a smashing place full of fantastic people.

“The fans were great and the players always gave everything for me every single week.

“Getting the club back into Super League, consolidating and then making the play-offs for the first time was amazing.

“I brought Karl Fitzpatrick in after taking him on trial for a month, I gave Stef Ratchford his debut, and had players like Malcolm Alker and Paul Highton who were the backbone of the club.

“There were some really good, solid people who bought into what I was trying to do and the club backed me as best as they could at the time.

“The Willows was a special stadium bang in the heart of Salford. I don’t think Salford got the stadium they wanted – and certainly not the deal they wanted – after moving grounds in 2012.

“I remember them having plans for casinos and becoming a self-sufficient club which never materialised.

“I just hope Salford can negotiate a way through this terrible mess, rebuild in the Championship and hopefully come back stronger.”