London Broncos IMG score revealed as financial update provided

London Broncos coach Mike Eccles says he expects their IMG grading to be around 50 per cent higher when they are revealed to the public on Wednesday.

The Broncos boss also believes they are only around ‘two years of strong investment away’ from a score of 15, which would see them return to Super League.

Earlier this month, the capital cub revealed they need around £350,000 of income to make it through the next month and be in a position to put a squad together for the 2025 Championship campaign – with almost a million pounds needed to survive next year.

That comes following the announcement that owner David Hughes is selling the club, leaving London in urgent need of new investment as they aim to regroup and a plot a pathway back to Super League under the gradings.

LRL RECOMMENDS: Ranking EVERY club’s IMG performance score ahead of Wednesday’s gradings reveal

London Broncos IMG score revealed as financial update provided

Monday afternoon though saw Eccles appear on talkSPORT’s Hawksbee & Jacobs Show, delivering a positive outlook as he said: “We feel we’re probably only two years of good investment away from a Grade 15 which would get you Super League access, but at the same time, we are up against time to get that investment in.

“I actually do think that in the long run, this (IMG structure) could be a good thing for the game, but as I say, the timing has really hurt us at this moment in time.

“I feel we’re probably going to make the biggest strides within the grading. We were ranked 24th last year and there can only be 12 in Super League, but we think we are going to get around a 50 per cent rise in grading, which is somewhere around the 12-and-a-half mark, so we’re only around 2.5 points off an automatic return to Super League.

“Realistically, that would take around two years to get there. If we take a step back now, it would take even longer, so the search for investment is crucial.”

On that investment search, Broncos chief Eccles continued: “David Hughes invested for 27 years, year after year, as a sole owner.

“He was pretty disgruntled with the fact we got up on merit last year and propped up everything pretty much outside the M62 down here on our own, yet we were told we were relegated before a ball was kicked, so he’s now left us.

“And for the first time in around 10 years, there’s no parachute payment, which has left us very vulnerable.

“I believe (there are interested new potential investors), but nothing too strong to be honest with you. It’s very much out there at the minute for discussion with the club should anyone be interested. It’s a super exciting project for somebody.

“The fundamentals are that we need to generate the money to start the season. We have some money and we have some distribution, but at the same time we’ve to generate what we can through season ticket sales.

“Our fans have put a GoFundMe page up to help us resource that as well, so we need all the income streams that we can get really.

“Yes, it’s going to be tight, but we think can do it with the support of everyone around.”

LRL RECOMMENDS: The clubs who are set for IMG score drops, including Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC