Wakefield prepared for possible drop

New Wakefield chairman Andrew Glover says he is ready to lead the Wildcats in the Championship, but still hopes that the club can retain its Super League licence.

Talking to the supporters at a fans forum on Tuesday night, Glover revealed that he did full costing and viability studies on the club in both Super League and Championship, with fans particularly keen to learn what effect any demotion would have on the long term future of the club.

He said: “A licence is not guaranteed. We have a lot of work to do before any confidence can be given on this. We are all aware of the importance of this and will do everything we can to make sure our application is as strong as it could be.

“It’s also worth noting that our starting position is probably at the back, so we all have to be realistic about our chances. That being said, the whole team will be working none stop on ensuring we can tick as many boxes as possible.”

The RFL are set to announce which Championship club will move up to Super League from 2012 on March 31st, with Barrow, Halifax and Widnes the three applicants. Following their recent troubles, Wakefield are the favourites of many to drop down.

Glover added: “When I looked at taking the club from administration, we did full costing and viability studies on both Super League and Championship.  Both of them work and we can function as a business in both leagues.  Obviously, if we are in Championship we will have to cut our cloth accordingly. There is a salary cap of £300,000 (with a further £100,000 allowed for the first year), so we will have to look at the playing staff, etc.

“That being said, we will be doing everything we can to stay in Super League, so should be focusing on strengthening, not weakening the team.”