CRAIG Hammond says Nottingham Rugby must hang on to director of rugby Glenn Delaney.

Delaney has been at the helm of the Lady Bay-based club for the last five years and has guided them through stormy waters, on and off the pitch.

In the process, he has built squads which have proved that he has an eye for untapped talent and has had the Premiership scouts setting up home at Meadow Lane.

Nottingham skipper Hammond fears Delaney's success at unearthing a conveyor belt of talent, and then seeing them depart, may well see the big New Zealander enticed to the Premiership himself.

He is ambitious and the frustrations of the last couple of years have not helped.

And that's what worries Hammond. He said: "It's good having Glenn here every year. He's an up-and-coming coach. What is he, 37 or 38, and he's got a bag of knowledge.

"I'm sure he wants to go up too.

"The likes of Glenn and Simon Beatham have done so much for this club to get us to where we are. They've working pretty hard.

"He deserves success and I'm sure he would love to take us up into the Premiership.

"His heart is in Nottingham but you never know what can happen and the struggles we've had in the last few years haven't helped."

Following their off-the-pitch problems of this time last year, Hammond is hoping they are now behind them.

They have signed a seven-year deal with the new owners of Notts County to play their games at Meadow Lane and now they are in the process of piecing together the financial clout to help them achieve their Premiership dream.

"Eighteen months ago, the board told us that for the next year-and-a-half it was going to be tough, our wages were going to be cut, the club was going to be cutting back on a lot of stuff," said Hammond.

"The year-and-a-half was going to be really hard but we've come out on the other side a lot better for it.

"Hopefully, they are true to their word, and I'm sure they will be because the board has been doing a great job.

"They are bringing in new sponsorship all the time, getting us to where we want to be.

"We are playing good rugby and the people who are coming to watch us are really enjoying it but we need more than the 1,500 who are coming down to watch us.

"Everyone who has been to one of our games have really enjoyed themselves but it's just how we get new fans to the ground in the first place.

"We have lots of young guys and some old boys for this season and I think we'll have another great chance of challenging in the Championship again."