Bath coach aware of pressure
Bath coach Brad Davis says he is fully aware of the pressure on the club ahead of the coming season.
Bath are a rugby club owned by a multi-millionaire owner, Bruce Craig, who has injected a great deal of cash into the club in order to make them successful and eradicate a bitter recent past.
The amount of money spent means that there is now a pressure on the club to succeed within the next twelve months. Davis has made a number of key signings this summer and the club look as though they are better prepared for Premiership glory than ever before.
Financial dependency on a third party is nothing new in modern sport and Bath are one of the first high-profile rugby clubs to have allowed a wealthy owner to come in and take control. It's important to look at all of the expectations, pressures and strains on the club ahead of the new season.
Pressure
The biggest pressure on the coach and on the club is to win games on the pitch. This will be easier for them to achieve because playing rugby is what they do best.
The club have spent big money on getting the likes of Lewis Moody to come to the club. This is a high profile England player with a big reputation. He will be on higher wages than a lot of other players at the club and the best will be expected from him straight away.
The pressure to succeed is vital because it relates directly to the club's future and security. The longer they go without a title means the longer they go not satisfying the owner. This could eventually mean that impatience causes the owner to leave and the financial dependency will be the end of the club.
Davis said: "With all these things put in place there is a massive responsibility for players and coaches to succeed on the pitch. With Bruce Craig coming on board, the three consecutive Premiership semi-finals we've had and all the positive noises that have been coming out, there's the realisation that Bath is a true giant not only in European rugby, but world rugby."
Return
The owner is going to want a return on his money at some point in the near future and this creates additional financial expectation across the entire club. This means ticket prices will go up along with merchandise as the club becomes more successful.
The boss has also promised to develop facilities and the state of Bath's ground during his time in charge. This means even more money going in to projects and sooner or later some cash is going to be wanted to go back the other way.
Davis added: "Hopefully there should be some bonus in the recruitment of top-class players. That may come a little easier now. But I don't think we can limit the club to being attractive for players. It was an attractive proposition even before all this happened – for players and coaches. A lot of the guys who have been on international tours are ringing up and wanting to be back in training as soon as possible."
Betting advice
Bath are well worth a shot at winning the Premiership this season. It's very clear how much pressure there is at the club and this will mean that everyone at Bath will be on the tips of their toes looking to cash in at every available opportunity over the course of the season.
They have very good coaches who seem to have built a quality squad who will be hard to beat. Back them now while you can still get good odds.
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