Fairbrother heads a consortium which bought the club from the Receiver. Coventry, one of the oldest and best rugger clubs in England, went bust owing £2.3 million.

But Fairbrother, who played more than 200 games for the club and was capped 12 times by England, before switching to Rugby League, stepped in at the 11th hour with a rescue package.

He says he is confident livewire coaching director Derek Eves will stay and said Eves was already negotiating wage deals with 18 players. Eves hoped to sign another ten players and a full list would be issued in two weeks.

He said:

"Coming in cold as we have, Derek is our link to the players. He is considering the new situation at the club and hopefully it will all work out."

Coventry's Coundon Road home has already been sold to developers but the new club will play there for two more years. Fairbrother revealed that his consortium had already had talks with a view to moving to the nearby council owned Butts Stadium - ironically the proposal made by Coventry City soccer club in a merger plan which was rejected by the rugger club membership two years ago.

Fairbrother said the new club would be run on a tight budget and he urged local rugby fans to support the club at their home matches. The main club sponsor Peugeot had indicated it would back the new set up.

The new chairman revealed that it had cost little to buy the debt-ridden Allied Dunbar Second Division club, and he said that hopefully all the creditors would get the money owed to them.