No 'drastic changes' necessary, says new Saints CEO

Northampton Saints main executive designate Julia Chapman has ruled retired immoderate "drastic changes of direction" erstwhile she takes complete later this year.

She has been chosen to switch Mark Darbon, who is leaving to go CEO of nan Royal & Ancient play club, who organise nan Open Championship.

Saints are connected a precocious aft winning their first Premiership title for 10 years and start nan caller play pinch a travel to Bath connected 20 September.

"We had an astonishing play past twelvemonth but I don't deliberation anyone is saying that everything was cleanable each nan time," Chapman told BBC Radio Northampton.

"It's a awesome clip to beryllium taking complete successful galore ways because it's very different group of challenges - it's (about) really do you return each nan awesome things nan nine person achieved and find a measurement of continuing that.

"It's not astir a turnaround, it's not astir fixing problems necessarily, it's astir looking astatine what we've done truthful good and seeing wherever we tin continue, but besides really we tin get better."

Chapman will beryllium stepping up from nan domiciled of main operating serviceman and already has a adjacent narration pinch head of rugby Phil Dowson and his staff.

"One of nan things I did successful my current/previous domiciled is activity pinch nan guys connected nan net headdress and nan guidance of nan playing budget," she said.

"There's ever conversations astir really we make everything fresh wrong our fund - and we're a mini nine here, we're each connected nan aforesaid site, we each cognize each other, truthful nan narration is there."

Chapman praised Darbon's transparency and openness successful his 7 years astatine nan club, arsenic good arsenic his collaborative attack pinch colleagues.

She said: "I deliberation we person a estimation of being a really friendly, open, welcoming and honorable nine and that's thing I decidedly want to continue.

"No-one does a occupation for illustration this successful isolation, it's astir building a awesome squad astir you and trusting those group to deliver."

Chapman said her first situation would beryllium to look astatine priorities for nan coming play and past successful nan longer term.

"We person a really bully strategy (in place) truthful this isn't astir U-turning aliases drastic changes of direction, it's astir looking wherever we are, really we request to accommodate and hopefully bring immoderate caller ideas to nan array arsenic well," she continued.

Asked what she was astir looking guardant to successful her role, Chapman replied: "Getting person to our supporters and really knowing what it is that brings them present clip and clip again, what it is they emotion astir nan club.

"How do we construe that into bringing caller group present to watch america - really do we support supporters we've already sewage happy and really do we bring nan joyousness of nan crippled to a full caller generation?".