Swinton seek scraps of comfort

On the face of it, Swinton's defeat by Chorley Lynx last week marked the lowest ebb of a once-proud club, nearly 40 years having passed since the Lions won the old First Division title twice in succession.

On the face of it, Swinton's defeat by Chorley Lynx last week marked the lowest ebb of a once-proud club, nearly 40 years having passed since the Lions won the old First Division title twice in succession.

Nobody seriously expects those great days to return, but even Swinton's most pessimistic supporters thought them capable of beating the likes of Chorley, who won just two games last season in the Northern Ford Premiership.

The defeat leaves Swinton without a win in three games this term, with a tough match today against third-placed Workington. It is going to get worse before it gets better.

Despite that, the club's chief executive and former coach, Tony Barrow, does not sound particularly down-hearted. "We'll be twice as good this week," is his modest promise.

There were, admittedly, some special circumstances behind the 24-14 defeat at Victory Park last Sunday. Due to postponements and fixture quirks, it was Swinton's first outing for a month under their new coach, Tony Humphries, and the ring-rust was all too obvious. For another thing, Chorley are a far more difficult proposition this year, with their link-up with Warrington bringing them the services of a better grade of player.

Last weekend, for instance, they had Leroy Rivett, a Lance Todd Trophy winner at Wembley with Leeds in 1999, on their bench.

Barrow believes that feeder club arrangements with Super League sides could distort this year's NFP, with teams becoming excessively reliant on their loan signings. "Perhaps we should get in touch with Wigan and see if they've got any to spare," he says – and perhaps they should.

Despite the signing of Anthony Murray from Barrow this week, Swinton have problems that go beyond the level of player they can field. Their move to Bury, forced upon them by the sale of their famous Station Road ground, has not been a success.

Dwindling numbers have been making the awkward journey across the northern fringes of Manchester to watch them at Gigg Lane and, for all their efforts, new fans from the Bury area have been difficult to attract.

There were hopes that, for this season, they might be moving a little closer to base by ground-sharing with Salford, but those plans fell through. They still hope to go home one day, but the club could be a sadly diminished operation by then.

In the short term, Swinton badly need a result or two to boost morale. For today's game, they are at least able to call on Rob Barraclough, who is not only a promising young hooker, but also has a degree in archaeology. If anyone can unearth remnants of Swinton's old glories, it should be him.