Coventry Rugby Club chairman Keith Fairbrother has said he is extremely confident" that the Coundon Road club will secure a £100,000 grant next month.

Coventry have applied for a Sportsmatch grant, which provides funding of up to £50,000 to help clubs establish and improve youth development facilities.

First the clubs have to secure sponsorship of £50,000 which then allows them to approach Sportsmatch to get that amount doubled.

Fairbrother believes it would be a huge boost for Coventry and is confident that Sportsmatch will back the club.

He said:

"We already have £50,000 sponsorship in place from local businesses, which is obviously subject to us getting it matched, but Rugby Lions received the grant last year so I am confident.

"I think businesses have decided to back us because we are running a very tight ship at the moment, and it appeals to people to see their money invested at grass roots level and not just going straight into the players’ pockets."

This has been reinforced with the recent announcement that Coventry have turned losses of £1 million into a profit this year, something which Fairbrother aims to continue.

"We want to put this club back into the position it was years ago and we are starting to do that because we are getting things right off the field."

The grant money would see the club employ a youth development officer tasked with finding potential talent and nurturing it up to first-team standard, a role Fairbrother believes is vital.

He said:

"There are several talented Coventry kids that are playing all over the place because they were allowed to slip through the net - that must stop.

"Players like Neil Back and Leon Lloyd are in the Leicester side and perhaps if they had been signed by Coventry it would be us that were top of the league now.

"However, parents are seeing the effort that this club is making towards youth development and more and more of the young stars in Coventry are opting to sign for their home town club."