TERRY Russell has revealed that Swindon Robins has a place close to his heart and he will do everything in his power to make the club financially stable before deciding to sell or offload the former SGB Premiership champions.

The Robins chief revealed he already has one eye on the club’s long-term future, with the option to offload the ownership rights to current team manager Alun Rossiter and commercial manager Lee Kilby being one consideration that has crossed his mind.

Russell – who lives 200 miles away from the Abbey Stadium – stated that he does not want to be the person to see the Robins close their doors.

Therefore, continued efforts to attract additional sponsorship and increasing awareness of the sport in the town is part of Russell’s plans to attract the club’s historic fanbase back to the terraces.

He said: “Lee Kilby and Alun Rossiter are a lot younger than me, and in the long-term you are looking at them to run the place.

“It’s a club at the end of the day, and I’m not getting any younger.

“But it is in my heart and I would never want to be the one to see it close down. So, I will do all I can to try and make it financially viable so that I can leave it running for the future.”

The club has made no secret of running at a loss over the past two seasons, but was boosted last week with the announcement that Complete Filtration Solutions (CFS) have renewed their deal as title sponsors.

Russell explained support from businesses like CFS is vital if the sport is to remain professional in Great Britain.

His comments were voiced amid what some fans consider to be a major crisis in the sport following the closure of several high-profile clubs in the past two seasons – including Coventry Bees, Lakeside Hammers, Rye House Rockets, Workington Comets and Buxton Hitmen.

Russell said: “We almost completed the deal at the end of last season.

“We’re delighted to have Complete Filtration Solutions back onboard, they’re good to work with and love the sport.

“Support from companies like CFS is absolutely vital if the sport is to move forward.

“CFS have provided us with some stability, we don’t want to go looking for new sponsors every year.”