Monday 30 March 2020 17:16, UK
Karl Fitzpatrick has warned of the precarious financial position all 12 Super League clubs find themselves in as the suspension of the season continues.
The 2020 rugby league season was suspended at all levels on March 16 initially until April 3 due to the coronavirus outbreak, but last week a joint statement from Super League and the RFL confirmed the shutdown will continue for an indefinite period.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Warrington Wolves chief executive Fitzpatrick believes his club are better placed than others to cope with the stoppage, but conceded they are feeling the pressure too with no match-day or other forms of income.
"It's hard to say at this stage," Fitzpatrick said. "All I can say is that the game is on a knife edge at this moment in time.
"All of our revenue streams have been switched off overnight and the clubs are in a very concerning position.
"We're in a slightly stronger position than a number of other clubs, however we're not immune from the financial uncertainty as well and we're talking weeks if not months.
"In the short term, we need to run a lean operation and it's probably worth saying there is not much fat in rugby league clubs anyway."
All of our revenue streams have been switched off overnight and the clubs are in a very concerning position
RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer is communicating with the government over possible measures of support for rugby league clubs while they wait to see when they can resume playing.
The players are having to follow their own training plans at home as well, while the option of playing games behind closed doors should the situation allow has not been ruled out.
"At this stage, nothing is off the table," Fitzpatrick said. "If that means getting games on and servicing certain contracts we may have to do that and the players need to be ready to go, so at this stage we can't count anything out.
"The players are at home at the moment following government guidelines and the issue is the uncertainty and the unknown.
"They've all been given home programmes and a nutrition plan, and the thing is when the games start up again we can't afford to have a mini-pre-season. We need to go straight at it and we need those revenue streams coming in straight away."
