Cougars chairman Gary Fawcett is spearheading a drive to attract stayaway fans back and insists the club will not make the mistakes of the past.

Keighley have undergone a series of cost-cutting measures in recent weeks to balance the books ahead of a crucial campaign for the club.

Following their relegation from the Championship this year, Keighley will need to bounce back from Championship One at the first attempt if they are to press ahead with ambitious plans for an eventual Super League licence.

The club have come close to extinction while chasing glory in the past, going into liquidation in 2001 and then suffering administration earlier this year.

But Fawcett has moved to reassure fans that unnecessary risks will not be taken this time round.

He said: “Classically, more than half of the clubs in rugby league are funded by one or two rich people who put money in on an annual basis.

“We’re not going to do that, so it has to pay for itself. The player budget’s going to be managed in a way that’s affordable for the club.

“We’ve spent a lot of time developing Foundation income streams which can support some players, so that’s good. But we do need to get some more business sponsorship in and then essentially we need to get the attendance up.

“We are not going to sign big stars on huge money in the hope the fans come back. If the fans come and we start getting surplus cash we will start to sign more players to augment the push for Championship and beyond.”

Fawcett sees strong support as the foundation for sustainable success.

At the height of Cougarmania, the club regularly attracted crowds of more than 5,000 to Cougar Park, compared to a league average of 1,083 this year.

By restoring trust in the club and increasing their presence in the town, Fawcett believes those absentees can be attracted back.

He said: “I think mainly the fans have gone because of other opportunities to see things and possibly disillusionment with the fact Cougars have been all promise but not delivered.

“One of the things we want to do is build the club on a sustainable basis so that there is a gradual progression.

“I think there are more things that distract people these days and more alternatives for what people can do on a Sunday afternoon.

“Certainly back in 1995 with the advent of Super League and Cougars not getting in, there was a migration of fans to Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls.

“Having said that, Bradford are misfiring at the moment and crowds are going down so those fans are going somewhere. Why don’t they come here where we know we have the foundations next season to do very well.”

Cougars are employing a back to basics approach in attempting to increase attendance.

Players and coaching staff will be regularly deployed throughout the town to meet both current and potential fans, while there has been a major push to improve the club’s community operations through the Cougars Foundation.

Fawcett is also keen to improve matchday entertainment and is confident Cougars offer a competitive package.

He said: “It’s difficult to measure crowd increases when you’re in the Championship because it’s a different experience to Championship One.

“But between 2008 and 2009 we grew attendances by 28 per cent, even though 2008 was an exciting year in its own right, so it shows it can be done.

“What we’ve gradually been doing is to put a lot of energy into the community to actually persuade people to come down.

“We’ve got a commitment from the coach and the players that they’re going to go into the town and try to persuade people to come down.

“If you get some momentum going, word of mouth will get other people down because that’s what happened in the 90s.”