SALFORD prop Brad Singleton hopes attention to detail will pay dividends as Red Devils coach Paul Rowley plots another push for the play-offs in what will be his final season at the helm.
The former Leigh and Toronto coach has often been linked with other jobs – due to both his eye-catching record and Salford’s financial difficulties (they are currently in RFL special measures), which make his achievements (two top-six finishes in three seasons) even more impressive.
However, the 49-year-old is to stay at the Salford Community Stadium, the local council buy-out of which should benefit the club both in terms of stability and opening up new revenue streams, as director of rugby, with his assistant Kurt Haggerty becoming coach after the end of the 2025 campaign.
Ireland international and ex-Leeds and Toronto player Singleton got on board midway through the 2023 campaign, moving from Wigan as part of the deal that took fellow frontrower Tyler Dupree the other way.
He has turned out 28 times for Salford in total, taking his career appearances tally to 300 in the process.
And he remains as hungry as ever as he eyes a pre-season outing at his hometown club Barrow, with whom Salford will be dual-registered this year, on Sunday week, January 18.
“I feel probably the best I’ve felt in years, and it’s really exciting,” he told the club’s YouTube channel.
“It’s just starting up again, getting back with the lads and chasing that goal of getting up the Super League ladder.
“I always think you can’t win anything in pre-season, but you can lose it. So it’s vital for the team to bond.
“You get those little connections, the foundations you base your game on, and then build from that.”
Salford claimed fourth place last season before a home play-off loss to Leigh.
“We’re aware of what went well, and what games we probably fell short in,” added Singleton.
“We probably blindsided our rivals in terms of finishing fourth because there was a lot of high expectation for a lot of teams and we got above them.
“But within these four walls we probably didn’t go as well as we could have.
“I think we had more to give in the play-offs, and we probably fell short of our own expectations.
“This season, with everything that’s been going on, people will probably put us near the bottom, but we’ll remain confident in what we’ve got.”
