Kris Radlinski discusses his role as Wigan Warriors' CEO and says the IMG opportunity is something rugby league can't afford to waste

The retired fullback was given the title of the club’s chief executive back in January, after a number of years of undertaking the responsibilities that come with the role.

Radlinski states he is honoured to have the position, but knows there are a number of big challenges to deal with.

He said: “I’ve been doing the role for a couple of years, but it’s actually official now and I’ve got the title.

“I’m honoured because it’s a big job to lead the club that I’ve supported all my life.

“It’s not a pat on the back, it’s roll the sleeves up time because it’s a critical time for the sport in the next decade, and a critical time for people like me at different clubs within the game.

“I’m incredibly honoured but also understand it’s a huge challenge.

“Ironically one of the reasons I didn’t go into coaching is because I didn’t want it to completely consume my life, I wanted to go home and switch off.

“I now find myself in this job, where you never switch off. It’s full on.

“When Michael Maguire arrived, he got me involved in planning players' contracts.

“Ian had other businesses at the time so he gave me responsibilities to understand how things operate.

“It’s just grown from there.

“Every year I’ve got a little more experience and more responsibility.

“I’ve learnt on the job. I’ve had some great times but also some tricky challenges.

“I’m comfortable but it’s hard work time because it’s critical.”

Radlinski is excited to see what rugby league’s partnership with IMG will bring, and believes the sport has to make the most of the opportunity.

“It won’t just happen, we’ve all got to work hard,” he added.

“Someone asked me earlier was it last chance, and I wouldn’t say it’s that bad of a situation, but it is the best chance we’ve had for a very long time and we can’t afford to waste it.

“I know IMG are on a two year consultation before they really get into it, but we are halfway through that now, so we need to get things moving.

“We are a few weeks away from knowing more about the grading. We also have regular meetings with the digital team to get us up to speed and so we can take advice.

“There are things happening that people won’t know about, but all I can say is you can tell you’re dealing with an executive who have a tremendous history of leading sports.

“That’s something we’ve potentially not had in the game for a long time, so we’ve got to listen to these experts now and fully buy into it.

“We’ve all signed up and we can’t fail with this one.

“They know what they are doing, and when the time comes where they present the options, we will make it work.

“A lot of the things so far have been on the clubs, which has been a smart move from IMG.

“It’s early days but when we find out what happens we will take it from there.”