Salford stalwart Ryan Brierley is convinced his club can emerge stronger from their current ownership crisis and continue to beat the odds when the 2025 Betfred Super League season kicks off next week.

The Red Devils’ very future has been thrown into question during a torrid pre-season in which a stalled takeover has effectively forced them to put all their top stars on the transfer list.

With a deal with new owners reportedly close, hopes are high that their current issues will be averted before Salford start the season at St Helens on February 15.

“When you face adversity it either makes or breaks through and at this club, everything we go through just seems to make us closer,” Brierley told the PA news agency.

“We don’t know a lot about what’s going on but it’s not nice when you hear about your team-mates and friends potentially leaving, but the fact that no-one has wanted to leave just shows what a special group we are.

“A lot of shade’s been thrown and if we weren’t such a tight group we could easily get distracted. But we’ve got a great coach who has kept us focused on rugby, and we are just looking forward to the start of the season and hopefully some really exciting news.”

Despite losing Man of Steel Brodie Croft to Leeds and operating on one of the smallest budgets in Super League, Salford coach Paul Rowley managed to defy expectations once again last season by steering his side to a fourth-placed finish before falling to Leigh in the play-offs.

Rowley will have to work wonders once again, in what will be his final season in his head coach role before moving up to become the club’s director of rugby in 2026.

First up this weekend is a Challenge Cup third round trip to emergent League One outfit Midlands Hurricanes, where the implications of their financial plight on their current salary cap level means they will be restricted in the number of regular first-team players they can select.

“Paul Rowley was the best signing this club ever made and when he leaves the role at the end of the season he will be a massive loss,” added Brierley. “But we know the club is going to be in good hands and hopefully we will able to send him off in a positive way.”