SWINTON LIONS chief executive Steve Wild accepts early-season results have been disappointing, but says the bigger picture at the historic club is bright.
It’s 150 years since Swinton were formed and 130 since they joined the Northern Union, coming in twelve months after the 1895 breakaway.
The Lions have played at a string of grounds outside their traditional home area since selling Station Road for housing in 1992.
Now the club, currently based at Heywood Road in Sale, have marked the start of their big anniversary year by unveiling plans to return to a new stadium on the site of the old Swinton Park golf course.
While there is a long way to go and a number of hurdles to overcome before ‘The Den’ becomes a reality, Wild says it’s another sign of things the club are doing properly.
“We keep our house in order in terms of paying our players and our bills on time, and our foundation is flying,” he explained.
“We try to do things the right way, and hopefully that has some reputational value when it comes to signing players.
“A lot of work has gone on in the background to put building blocks in place to try to make sure Swinton Lions are here for years to come, and the stadium project is a huge part of that.”
Swinton go into their home meeting with London Broncos on Sunday – which will be streamed live by Lounges.tv – seeking a first league win at the fourth attempt.
And Wild added: “We’d obviously like results to have been better, but in two of the games, we could well have won.
“Rochdale (Swinton lost 12-8) was a try apiece, while against Goole (a 28-24 defeat), it went down to the last play of the game, so of the first three, it’s only at North Wales Crusaders that we didn’t reach the standard expected.
“It’s still a pretty young team with players still learning and developing.”