Reborn Salford ‘vulnerable’ but ready to start ‘tough’ 2026

Just six weeks ago Salford Red Devils were wound up by the High Court over significant outstanding debts.

They had already been demoted from Super League in October following a season of turmoil on and off the field.

Fast forward to mid-January and a revitalised phoenix club, minus the Red Devils moniker, has risen from the ashes ready to contest Friday’s opening game of the 2026 Championship campaign against Oldham.

But how do you piece together the workings of a functioning rugby league club in such a short space of time – over Christmas and the start of a new year no less?

Here is how it all unfolded over a jam-packed festive period at the club.

Salford were wound up on 3 December, when most Championship sides had done their business for the season ahead and were well into their pre-season preparations.

That decision brought the 152-year-old club to a halt, but that hiatus proved to be shortlived, as a potential phoenix club were granted passage by the RFL to take part in the second tier in 2026.

A consortium was finally granted Championship status for the upcoming campaign three days before Christmas, leaving very little time to spare before kicking off their season on 16 January.

That left the tough task of building an entire squad and hiring a head coach just a matter of weeks before a gruelling season was meant to start under a new tag of Salford RLFC.

In stepped Mike Grady, a man who previously led Salford’s women’s team, to return and pick up the club that almost wasn’t.

“It’s unique and different and a challenge,” Salford’s new head coach told BBC Sport.

“We had no players at all so I’ve reached out to a couple of reserve players from last year and it’s a chance to perform well.

“It’s going to be tough the first couple of months, don’t get me wrong, but we can’t wait to get going and everyone has been working very hard 24 hours a day.”

One familiar face around the club is former captain Ryan Brierley, who cut short his playing career to become their chief executive.

Brierley departed midway through the 2025 season as part of a mass exodus of players as financial problems began to bite.

The club he joined, Oldham, are who Salford will face on their Championship return.

“It’s naturally the next step of my career. My retirement came a little sooner than expected but when an opportunity like this comes, I didn’t want to turn it down,” Brierley told BBC North West Tonight.

“A Salford boy who supports and wants to help the club, when you get offered a chance to help and stay at Salford, you certainly don’t say no.”

Although it is an immense achievement to get a squad together to contest the season, Brierley is under no illusions as to the situation the club are currently in as they find their feet after a 2025 to forget.

“What I want to make the fans understand is that it won’t always be nice, either. People always want honesty until they don’t. But for us it’s about managing expectations,” he added.

“We’re in a really vulnerable position but the realism from the fans has given me great confidence that I can be really open, honest, transparent and direct about how vulnerable we are right now.

“I’ve got to protect my players. I don’t like the situation I’m putting them in but needs must.”

Former Salford player Mason Caton-Brown led the consortium which ultimately took over the club and has overseen the race against time to be ready for the start of the season.

A consortium with former Salford chief executive Chris Irwin had also been in the running to lead the new club and following the announcement that Caton-Brown’s group had been successful, the RFL said they hoped the both parties could work in a “mutually beneficial way”.

Caton-Brown’s submission to the RFL was praised for “demonstrating a clear commitment to sustainable governance, financial responsibility and long-term stability”.

Yet the reality of stability for the club means that it might be a tough year ahead, with Caton-Brown saying that they will operate on a part-time basis for the time being.

“That’s the best way forward for the club,” he told BBC Radio Manchester. “Then we’ll look at how we perform, how the fans engage with the club and we can look at different options then.

“It’s going to be a tough year. We’ve had a tight deadline to build a club. The main focus is sustainability and I think the fans understand that as well.

“We’ll look to do as best we can on the field but the main priority is to make sure the club is here so that’s the focus.”

With players jumping ship in 2025, Salford were forced to field youthful sides to fulfil their fixture list.

While numerous players left last season, 20-year-old loose forward Charlie Glover remains.

He made eight appearances last term, many more than he had been expecting to make as he began his senior rugby league career.

“I came in at the very start for pre-season [in 2025] and at that point we had our main squad and we were looking to win a trophy, we had aims of doing that,” he told BBC North West Tonight.

“My role in that was to be in and around the environment, play in the reserves and be in and around over the course of the year but obviously things took a turn for the worse.

“I got my chance like a few of the other lads and I managed to take that and I’m back here now and ready to go again.”

As for the future, Glover is happy that he has a club where he can continue his development.

“A lot of us were sat wondering whether we would have a club and it kept ticking on and on,” he added.

“A lot of us thought it was too late and we’d have to find another squad and find a route out.

“But time heals massively and it’s amazing to see what’s happened in a short space of time.”