London Irish players and staff receive April pay after delay amid takeover by

After a delay in which London Irish’s players and staff were not paid wages for April, Thursday evening brought belated confirmation the Gallagher Premiership club had now made payments; Head coach Declan Kidney had earlier confirmed on Thursday morning that no payments had been received

London Irish players and staff have now been paid their April wages following a delay as the club moves through a takeover from an American consortium.

Players were originally told that they would be paid on Tuesday but were still awaiting payment on Thursday morning.

However, payment then went through on Thursday afternoon.

Earlier on Thursday head coach Declan Kidney admitted a “sensitive” situation was ongoing at the club but they had received “assurances” payment should arrive this week.

“I’m just telling you know what I know,” Kidney said.

“Sensitive negotiations are going on at the moment. Pay day has ended up in the middle of that.

“No employee has been paid yet but we’ve given a lot of assurances from the prospective ownership that will happen over the coming days.”

Kidney previously confirmed all insurance premiums had been covered, removing one roadblock to the weekend’s final day Premiership clash vs Exeter taking place.

At the end of a season that has seen Worcester and Wasps go bust, while worried, Kidney said he has been overwhelmed by the commitment his squad have shown under adversity.

“Obviously there are concerns around it, but they’re not in our control,” he said.

“We’re not the first company to have delayed payments in terms of our salaries but we can only control what we can control. You can draw too many comparisons between us and other teams but I think it would be wrong to do that.

“I can’t speak highly enough of the quality of players I’ve been working with, in terms of application and positiveness.

“These lads are about way more than money. They are just the salt of the earth, fantastic people to work with. Nobody is looking for their hand to be held, everybody is looking forward to getting on with the…