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Meet the new man in charge down at Edgeley Park

7/11/2007

WHILE Jason Robinson is busy planning how to spend his retirement, Sharks new chief executive is already immersing himself in a variety of matters at Edgeley Park.

As well as plans to shut himself in his office to pore over the fine detail of complex rugby agreements and legislature, James Jennings will also be utilising his business nous to ensure Sharks remain a competitive outfit on and off the pitch.

As a Sharks’ supporter even before the club moved to Stockport, Jennings (pictured) is aware that a balance has to be struck between the business and the fans.

"I think the sport of rugby has to have that balance now," he said. "Successful clubs in the Guinness Premiership have got the balance between business, commerce, and most importantly rugby. I think that’s going to be a feature of the game going forward...

"It is unlikely that, over a sustained period of time, a top club will be able to achieve success on the field unless it has got a very successful commercial and business operation underpinning it."

Jennings, who started as chief executive last Thursday, is keen to do his bit to ensure Sharks’ success.

He explained: "Having had a taste of success we have an appetite to achieve more.

"So if I was to look forward five years from now what would I ideally like to see?

"I’d like to be able to look back on a period of success on the field, plenty of trophies in the cabinet, challenging each year in the Guinness Premiership and in the Heineken Cup, to continue to attract world class players and coaches and to have a stadium which is full every week."

IT was announced recently that the price of individual match tickets to see Sharks in action was set to rise.

Jennings explained the reason: "The very simple explanation is that the club have been investing to bring together a world class squad in order that we can be very competitive in the league.

"The start of the season has been disappointing for virtually all clubs in the Guinness Premiership because of lower attendances due to the coincidence of the World Cup games being played at the same time as the opening of the season.

"Attendances have been down culminatively across the league by about 16 per cent. That makes it very difficult because obviously we do need full houses week in, week out in order to balance the books so that we can make the investment in players going forward."