Paul Royston is in talks to become Cougars’ director of rugby as the club seek an immediate return to the Championship.

Royston currently serves not only as the club’s highly-regarded head of strength and conditioning but also as performance director – a role he accepted during the off-season last year.

The Cougar Park hierarchy are now keen to use Royston’s expertise in a wider-reaching role that will see him have an even greater say in team selection and the coaching set-up.

The newly-created position is also designed to ease the burden on player-coach Paul March and is significant because Royston had previously considered quitting his post at Cougars if the club were relegated.

Despite their controversial demotion, which Cougars seem powerless to now overturn and which chairman Gary Fawcett estimates will cost them up to £250,000 in lost revenue, Royston will be staying put and is keen to help the club bounce straight back.

Royston, who owns the Workouts gyms in Keighley and Shipley, said: “Relegation means the funds available to the club have now been reduced significantly and, although people are saying we should bounce back with the squad we have, it’s not always as straightforward as that.

“The financial side of it – the players getting paid on time – is huge in professional sport and is just the same in semi-professional sport.

“There are issues there that need to be dealt with but, during this close-season period, the directors have been asking if I would step up and do a little bit more as director of rugby.

“I’d have more say in who we try to select in terms of additional support staff, be that assistant coaches, or how we developed the backroom staff.

“It would also ease some of the burden on Marchy in terms of the day-to-day running of things.

“The head coach at this level has to deal with so much and a director of rugby role could provide additional help on strategies, structures and what we do with the club as we try to go forward again.

“It would be not be the right time to step down now, not after we’ve been relegated. I would rather finish with us being back in the Championship.

“I think it’s a Championship team with a Championship fanbase - it’s up there with bigger teams and we are still relatively independent financially.

“I have had a change of heart because there is a bit of a struggle going on here – we’ve got to fight for promotion now.”

Cougars operated without an assistant coach last season, although Adam Mitchell did provide support in that department, but will now look at making a formal appointment with March continuing to play on.

Royston added: “I think it will help to have a senior figure within the ranks because it can be tough for the player-coach.

“A player-coach role can be so difficult but, with Paul having missed so much of this season, he wants to make sure that he finishes on a better note and win promotion back.

“You would have to say that Cougars would certainly be one of the favourites next season and possibly Swinton too, as they seem to be having a good go at it.

“York and Oldham also went well last season and the teams that came down with us will also be decent, although I know we had clear daylight between them.

“We have retained quite a lot of the squad and there seems to be a determination among senior players such as Danny Jones and Paul Handforth to get out of this division.”