THIS week was the final one of the rugby financial year which runs from December to November and we have to put in our financial submissions to both the RFL and our accountants.

Once all the money comes in, that we have sent invoices out for in the year, then the accountants can produce their final accounts. Hopefully we will be in a position to call an AGM and present the accounts a lot earlier next year.

I am pleased to say we are in a much healthier position than 12 months prior. Obviously, we have been busy selling season tickets and sponsorship, but thankfully the majority of that income is sat in our current account as opposed to paying off outstanding debts.

I keep a very keen eye on the finances of the club and we can’t take our eye off the ball. If we see that we are slipping away from our income targets or have unexpected expenditure then we must be reactive enough to address the issue.

I’ve said previously I want every part of the club to improve with the ultimate aim being the income streams improve sufficiently to put a better product on the field.

We have a boxing event at Cloud 9 later this month which looks as though it’s heading for a sell-out and this is the first of a string of planned events.

We want to improve our sales of merchandise and over the next few weeks, in the run up to Christmas and the new season, we will be heavily advertising our range of stock.

Our commercial team have been very busy and we really want to work with our sponsors. We want them to feel that they are very much part of the club and the direction it is heading.

It is thanks to their faith in the club that we have that chance to move forward. It isn’t a one way street though and we don’t just want to take the cash – we genuinely want our sponsors’ businesses to grow by virtue of their association with the club.

And then we have the fixtures, which are what we are all waiting for. There is a real sense of anticipation and I can’t thank our fans enough for their feedback about the work we are doing off the field, and assembling a team of real promise.

We need fans through the turnstiles, but we also know we have to work hard. We have to promote games properly and make them a day not to be missed.