Rowley sees 'green shoots of progress' at Salford
Paul Rowley's Salford Red Devils have won just once in Super League this season
- Published
Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley has said he can see "green shoots of progress" in his side in the midst of a tough 2025 Super League campaign.
The club have had a tumultuous time both on and off the field this term with financial problems regarding the club's ownership, unpaid wages and player departures overshadowing their campaign.
Rowley's side were defeated 38-6 against Hull FC on Sunday, putting in a spirited performance, and they remain bottom of the Super League table with just one win this season.
"Like everybody else I'm fed up, bored of the situation because everybody wants to win. We're here to compete. We could almost smell success coming into this season so it's been difficult," Rowley told BBC Radio Manchester.
"What I will say is that we've got some new additions in and I did feel that this week there were some green shoots of progress and actually in the first half I felt it."
Despite the player exodus at the club this term - including the recent departure of talismanic centre Nene Macdonald - Rowley said that the team spirit in his camp remains high.
"You can't remove that amount of serious talent and replace it overnight. It's not easy to replace that sort of quality," Rowley added.
"We're OK, the mood is consistent. Ultimately we'll turn up tomorrow and everybody's in each other's company and they're all best mates so the mood is good."
The Red Devils face a meeting with HMRC on Wednesday over a potential winding-up order as their financial struggles continue.
Despite this, they fielded four debutants - Dan Russell, Cain Robb, Tom Whitehead and Kobe Rugless - against Hull FC, who all joined on loan last week.
Rugless' signing from Hunslet proved controversial, with the Championship side alleging, external that the transfer had taken place without their consent.
Rowley brushed away the criticism post-match on Sunday, leading to Hunslet standing by their earlier statement in a follow-up post on X, external on Monday.
"I think whoever communicated and wrote it has been miscommunicated from the people that are actually involved in it," Rowley said on Sunday, prior to Hunslet's second statement.
"I've certainly not targeted any players. That's been thrown at me on more than one occasion. I'll try and remain classy on that one and plead the fifth amendment."