St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus is putting no pressure on new head coach Paul Rowley to have an immediate effect in the role.
Rowley had been head coach at Salford Red Devils and was brought in during the winter to take over from Paul Wellens.
Although they were beaten in the Super League play-off semi-final stage last season, they have not been the winners they were from 2019 to 2023. In that golden period they won four successive Super League Grand Finals, the Challenge Cup and the World Club Challenge.
Rowley’s first competitive game in charge will be at the Fibrus Community Stadium next Friday when he brings his Saints side to take on Workington Town in the third round of the Challenge Cup.
They start the Super League programme the following week-end against Warrington Wolves.
Mr McManus, speaking to the St Helens website, said: “There are 35 games during the season, so I’m much more interested in how we finish than how we start. But a good start in rugby league is important. You normally find that the teams that start well are there or thereabouts at the end of the season.
“This a very competitive league. We’ve always had four vying at the top of the league but now I would say we’ve got seven, eight or nine teams.”
Ahead of the 2026 campaign, St Helens have signed St George Illawarra Dragons and Australia forward David Klammer, former Man of Steel Jackson Hastings, Wigan’s Jacob Douglas and ex-Salford pair Nene Macdonald and Joe Shorrocks.
The club have also tied up Jake Wingfield, Daryl Clark, Matt Whitley, Curtis Sironen, Jake Burns and Agnatius Paasi to new contracts.
Workington have already sold 1,500 tickets for the game with very few left in the grandstand and should be looking at their biggest crowd for some considerable time.
But first they have to take care of Championship business on Sunday when they travel to Rochdale Hornets in their second fixture, after losing the opener 40-0 at Barrow.
