By Ben Dirs

Richards in vow to take Quins up

"Commitment, loyalty and belief" was the theme of the news conference to announce the arrival of Dean Richards as Harlequins' new director of rugby.

And with skipper Andre Vos, England centre Will Greenwood and former England number eight Tony Diprose also on board for next season, you couldn't argue with the sentiment.

Indeed, in an age when footballers abandon clubs for an extra �40,000 a week and the guarantee of trophies, it was difficult not to feel all fluffy inside.

Quins can also count on the continuing support of sponsors NEC, who have renewed for another two years at an "enhanced six-figure sum".

However, and despite the slogans, former Leicester coach Richards, along with chief executive Mark Evans, understands how grave the task in hand is.

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"Everybody is aware how difficult things are in the first division," said Richards.

"It's going to be a hard year. There are difficult sides and difficult places to play at. Some of the situations players will find themselves in will be totally alien.

"It will be the same as at Leicester when everyone wanted to beat us."

Having endured a tough year in the French championship as coach of Grenoble, Richards is jumping straight from the frying pan and into the fire.

He has three games to save Grenoble from relegation before taking up the reins at The Stoop.

But, by all accounts, Grenoble are a limited side and Richards, who led the Tigers to four league titles and two Heineken Cup victories, is the ideal person to lead Quins back to the promised land.

I would hope that in a year we will be back in the Premiership, financially secure with a purpose-built, sold-out stadium Quins chief executive Mark Evans

"We are absolutely determined that this will be a setback rather than a mortal wound," said Evans, who confirmed his coaching days are over.

"And I felt Dean, other than his proven track record, had the personal qualities of honesty and integrity that were particularly appropriate."

While somewhere in the region of 30 members of hospitality and administrative staff are set to lose their jobs, Evans maintains Quins will only lose "four or five players".

In addition, while Evans admits the new 12,500-capacity ground is unlikely ever to be full next season, 1,200 season ticket holders have already renewed, many at last season's prices.

"I would hope that in a year we will be back in the Premiership, financially secure with a purpose-built, sold-out stadium," said Evans.

"It will not be without significant pain. We have to make adjustments. But we're not going to slash and burn and put at risk the advances that have been made in the last few years."

And Richards, who admitted he had considered Quins a soft touch during his playing days, agreed the squad has what it takes to bounce back to the very top.

"There is huge potential here and it's a case of realising that potential. I feel I can do something here at Quins," he said.

"Having played against them for 15-20 years and coached against them, I always thought they were a sleeping giant waiting to be woken up."