Tim Sheens heading to Salford Red Devils in advisory role

Australia coach Tim Sheens is set to watch Salford's home game against Hull on Saturday night as he embarks on a short spell with the Super League club.

The former Canberra and Wests Tigers boss is to spend three weeks in England working in an advisory capacity with Salford owner Marwan Koukash, who is desperate to turn around the fortunes of the Red Devils after defeats in their opening two games of the season.

"If you can't learn from someone like Tim Sheens, who can you learn from?" Koukash said. "I'm expecting him to arrive on Friday and accompany me to the game on Saturday.

"He will be with us for three weeks and I think his presence will be good for all of us."

Koukash insists that Sheens, who is free of club ties, will not interfere with the role of head coach Iestyn Harris but help set up structures for the long-term benefit of the club.

"His work will probably start on Sunday or Monday," Koukash added. "He is the type of person who lives and breathes rugby league 24 hours a day.

"I have made mistakes and it will be nice to have someone of his capability to bounce ideas off.

"One way to bring success is to invest in youth and I want his guidance in that. It's not sustainable for us just to go out and buy big names. We need to develop a winning culture."

Plans abandoned

Meanwhile, Koukash says he has been forced to abandon plans to build a new community stadium for neighbouring League One club Swinton after being let down by the local council.

"I spent the best part of 14 months and nearly £100,000 on developing a scheme only to find that the land wasn't even available," he said.

"In December 2013 we were led to believe we were going to be given the go-ahead within a couple of months.

"I value my reputation in the community and, if I say I'm going to do something, I want to do it. I made a promise to Swinton Lions and their fans and for the council to pull the carpet from under me is not the way some politicians should behave."

A Salford council spokesman said the proposed site was ruled out because of the impact on local residents, difficulty with access and the need for a new primary school and houses in Swinton but insisted the local authority has identified other potential sites and will be pursuing those options directly with Swinton.