Crunch time for Vikings

Nov 8 2007 by Alex Turner, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

WIDNES Vikings are entering arguably the busiest and most crucial few months in the club’s long history.

In the next six months, the club must recruit a squad of players, create a management structure and prepare a bid for a Super League licence which will decide its fortunes for the next three years.

It took new owner Steve O’Connor less than 24 hours to reappoint former coach Steve McCormack, who was persuaded to return little more than a week after leaving by the promise of a full-time squad.

McCormack said: ‘The Co-operative National League is a fiercely-competitive and highly-intensive championship.

‘To compete successfully at this level, it is important the team is run on a full-time basis which helps me immensely in attracting the right calibre of experienced players to the club.’

However, McCormack must rebuild his squad that has been decimated since the Grand Final defeat to Castleford Tigers on October 7.

Further departures were announced in the days before the administrator handed control of the club to O’Connor.

Oliver Wilkes and Scott Grix will be reunited with Damien Blanch at Wakefield Trinity Wildcats after signing two-year deals with the Super League club.

Veteran prop forward Mick Cassidy will play for Barrow in 2008 after three years at the Halton Stadium.

Andy Kirk has joined Featherstone while youngsters Martin Keavney and Mike Morrison have moved to Leigh Centurions.

It means only six players – Mark Smith, Bob Beswick, Joel Penny, Paul Noone, Dean Gaskell and Gavin Dodd – remain at the Vikings, and it is expected decisions about their futures will be made quickly.

Head coach McCormack, who spent just nine days as assistant coach at Hull KR, is optimistic about next year’s squad.

He said: ‘Within minutes of the announcement of my appointment as head coach, players from England and overseas were ringing me expressing interest in joining Widnes Vikings.

‘There’s a monumental amount of work to be done but already you can sense the buzz of excitement and expectation and everyone is now looking forward to the new season.’

The news the new owners will maintain a full-time squad is also a boost to the club’s chances of being given a Super League licence for 2009-11.

O’Connor said: ‘Our immediate goal is to take Widnes Vikings into the Super League where they belong and to achieve that you need full-time commitment.

‘At the moment, it is important to reassure the people who work behind the scenes at the club, those players that are under contract to Widnes Vikings and the fans that the club’s future is in safe hands.

‘Much work needs to be carried out to put a management structure in place for the forthcoming season and to develop a strategy to ensure our place in the Super League by 2009.’

‘But before then the Rugby Football League have to approve the Vikings’ application to play in Co-operative National League One next season.

O’Connor, along with club chief executive Pete Barrow and Halton Council leader Tony McDermott, met with senior RFL officials in Leeds on Monday.

The Vikings owner said: ‘Our initial talks were encouraging and the RFL were helpful in giving us guidance on the way forward.

‘I’m hopeful the RFL Board will agree to our membership quickly so we can then concentrate on instigating the numerous ideas contained within the business plan to rebuild the Vikings.’