Russell Earnshaw: Defiant Bees are ‘over first hurdle’ after RFU reprieve

Oct 29 2009 by Matt Smith, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM & Solihulll boss Russell Earnshaw today declared that the defiant club are ‘over the first hurdle and back in the race’.

The relieved player-head coach was speaking after the RFU decided to give a new consortium a month to prove that they can secure a sustainable future for the crisis club. However, the governing body have decided to dock the Bees 15 points for going into liquidation.

After almost four hours of deliberation over the 11th-hour rescue plan yesterday, the RFU’s senior management board agreed to give the club a continuation licence until November 23, at which point a further review will be held.

That allows Bees to turn their attention back to Championship action, starting with Saturday’s mouth-watering derby when Moseley are the visitors to Sharmans Cross Road (2pm).

Although Earnshaw is still unwilling to reveal the identities of the backers behind the new consortium, he did confirm that Birmingham City’s Chinese owners were not involved.

The club was put into voluntary liquidation on Tuesday which resulted in several members of staff being made unemployed and the closure of the Bumble Bees Nursery, a steady source of income, at their Sharmans Cross home.

And, while yesterday’s announcement was a step in the right direction, Earnshaw was keen to stress that this is just the first stage of the rebuilding of the beleaguered Bees.

“The hard work starts now,” insisted Earnshaw. “We are still looking for people to get involved, whether that be with finances or time and effort.

“I’ve had quite a few texts off fans and one thing we will be looking to do is open the club up and let everyone have a certain amount of input, it has to be transparent.

“Getting the RFU on board was something I’ve asked for because I think it’s important that we work alongside them. We’ve set ourselves targets of how we want the club to be run and we are looking forward to the RFU’s input.”

Earnshaw also revealed that he never let himself believe that the end was nigh for Bees.

“After the last game (at Cornish Pirates) everybody was taking photos of what could have been the final team but I was just stood on the side and not really a part of it,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s because I am a ridiculously optimistic person and I could never visualise this being the end.

“A lot of people never believed that we would get through this. It’s been a strange few months and now we’re getting over the first hurdle.

“I got a bit emotional and excited yesterday, which is something that I never expected. I have a pretty good feeling and I’m glad that a lot of effort has paid off.”