KEIGHLEY COUGARS co-owners Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia have re-iterated their desire to see promotion in rugby league to be decided on the pitch.

The pair were outspoken over the introduction of the IMG grading system – Garcia admitting they became pariahs of the sport – and the process of selecting teams for Super League has come under the spotlight again with the upcoming expansion to 14 teams.

In a wide-ranging interview on BBC Radio Leeds, O’Neill said: “Forget having a panel, put the team in that’s top of the league. That’s what this game is about, it’s about winning and succeeding. I don’t understand why we have Lord Caine, a civil servant, who’s going to come and decide with his panel. If you’re top of the league, you should get promoted to Super League, it’s just logic.

“Our ambition was always to get to Super League. We’ve spent an awful lot of money. When IMG came in, the chance of Keighley getting to Super League are minimal because the spreadsheet doesn’t add up.

“We still have that ambition. My only hope, and I think it will happen as we’ve seen time and time again in rugby league, is that things change.

“I think fans from all clubs will get frustrated when you’re in a league based on a spreadsheet. I think logic will come back in to play and you’ll get promoted if you deserve it on the field.

“It should all be about watching sport, enjoying it and winning, that’s what promotion should be about, not whether you have a screen or X amount on the balance sheet, it should be how good your players and coaches that you are recruiting are.”

Meanwhile, O’Neill and Garcia have received a letter of congratulation from the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP.

It acknowledges their efforts in supplying kits and equipment to rugby league in Ukraine.

In it, MP Hoyle wrote: “I know the culture of Keighley is underpinned by inclusivity and community engagement and it is heart-warming to know that these principles apply equally both at home and overseas.”