“SALFORD Red Devils will prevail,” fans told the floundering club’s owners today, “but not with you anywhere near it.”

The Super League’s bottom side, who were thrashed 80-6 at Hull on Sunday, have been in financial difficulty all year.

The league has imposed a salary cap on the club since the start of the season, and its owners have failed to pay staff on time on a number of occasions this year.

HM Revenue & Customs issued the club with a winding-up order in May, following which chief exclusive Chris Irwin resigned. The club reportedly owes the tax man £500,000.

The winding-up order has been adjourned until September.

The chaos has seen 13 players leave, including their captain, leaving the team depending on loaned players and the youth squad.

The 152-year-old club’s current owners — a consortium led by Swiss businessman Dario Berta, alongside Kurt Graver, Saia Kailahi and Curtis Brown — issued a late-night statement on Monday trying to assure fans that the Red Devils will not close.

In it, the owners said they were “pleased to announce a significant step forward in securing the club’s future.”

They said that since their acquisition of the Red Devils in February, “the club has faced a number of financial hurdles, primarily stemming from legacy debt linked to a historical arrangement between the previous owner and Salford City Council.

“An essential £1.8 million investment — pledged by an external backer and anticipated by November 2024 — failed to materialise, significantly disrupting the club’s financial planning.

“Matters worsened in May when Salford City Council unexpectedly withdrew from negotiations to purchase the AJ Bell Stadium [sic], a key element of the club’s investment strategy.”

Salford Community Stadium’s sponsorship deal with stockbroker firm AJ Bell ended in 2023.

“Despite recent setbacks,” the owners’ statement continues, “the club is in the process of establishing a new team to stabilise operations moving forward, alongside securing bridge funding that restores immediate financial stability and lays the foundation for a sustainable future.

“This marks a turning point and underscores the consortium’s long-term commitment to the Red Devils.”

Fan group 1873 issued a scathing response to the owners’ statement this morning on social media.

“Your late-night statement, issued at 22:47 without so much as a name attached to it, says everything about the level of accountability and transparency we’ve come to expect from your tenure — none,” it reads.

“If you truly stood by your words, you’d sign them. But you didn’t.

“You couldn’t even get the name of our stadium — the one you’re apparently so desperate to acquire — right. For reference, it is the Salford Community Stadium, not the AJ Bell Stadium.”

“That basic mistake tells us everything we need to know about your attention to detail, your respect for the club and your connection to its identity.”

The fan group accused the owners of trying to shift blame for their failures onto Irwin, Salford City Council, the supporters, the players who left, “anyone but yourselves.”

The group painted the owners’ claims to have “secured bridge funding” to stabilise the club as “pure fiction.”

“You talk about commitment and long-term sustainability, but the truth is you’ve run this club into the ground in record time. HMRC may soon make the decision for you. The fans’ patience is gone. You are now alone,” it said.

“Every line you’ve issued has been crafted to dodge responsibility, while the club you claim to care about crumbles on your watch. In trying to defend yourselves, you’ve only proved exactly why you’ve lost the trust of every single Salford Red Devils fan.

“The 1873 promised Salford supporters a voice and on Sunday, it will be heard. The fans will speak and respond for themselves. The protest will not be small or easy for you to ignore. It will be loud, unified and aimed squarely at the pair of you.

“With every passing day, The 1873 has grown stronger whilst your own position crumbled.

“You will see in person the frustration your statement has fuelled and the resolve you have created.

“Your time is up.”