Salford coach prepared to give youngsters a chance in upcoming game v Wigan

As the wait for official confirmation on the pending takeover continues, Salford City Reds coach Phil Veivers is left with one primary option – and that is the likelihood that he will have to play youngsters in the club’s upcoming clash against Wigan, a move he is prepared to make.

With 8 players leaving the club last year and a changing of the guard all but likely, Veivers has experienced players lined up to join the club but he cannot go ahead and sign them, until Dr Marwan Koukash officially takes over.

Koukash, who is a millionaire racehorse owner, made a firm pledge to make funds available immediately as paperwork continues to stall the deal, one expected to be finalised by the middle of the week.

“I’m still waiting to see what happens this week,” said Veivers.

“You can only play the cards you are dealt. At this moment in time I’ve got to prepare with what I’ve got.”

With veteran prop Martin Gleeson just one player that Veivers will likely bring in, the delays with the takeover, mean that the club may not be able to field a side that Veivers believes is competitive, for quite some time.

“I’ve probably lost a couple of them now because of how late it’s gone, but the ones that are still there and available are in pretty good shape at the moment,” he said.

“But fans will have to be patient. If you’re going to put new bodies in there, it’s going to take time a team time to gel.

“And, if they are in Australia, they can’t train with us and there’s a timescale between signing and getting visas and work permits and so on.”

After an off-season that saw many changes and brought about a score of uncertainty, Salford captain Stephen Wilde says the team is just keen to get out there and play.

“Until we actually see it’s signed, we’re still a bit wary as players because we’ve been here before,” he said.

“We just want to get out on the field now. I think it’s come at the right time for us.

“It’s gone from a tricky off season where we didn’t even know if we are going to have a club and now we play Wigan on Friday. The boys are keen to get started and start building for the future.

“It’s been awkward, but the boys have stuck together through it.”

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