The outraged Super League giants issued a statement at the weekend condemning comments made by objectors Morrisons in a letter the food company sent to local residents. Saints claimed that it contained a 'series of 'misleading and wholly inaccurate statements.'

The club also maintained that they were 'clearly designed to undermine the public support for the planning applications while preserving
Morrisons own present dominant market position in St Helens'.

Below is a point by point breakdown of Morrisons' claims, and Saints' response:


* MORRISONS: St Helens MP Dave Watts considers that there are no real ground supporting the approval of the planning placation.
SAINTS: Mr Watts is fully supportive and is convinced of its merits and grounds.

* MORRISIONS: St Helens RLFC is a commercial success and should be reinvesting in its existing stadium.
SAINTS: Despite the phenomenal rugby success and highly professional management, St Helens have posted material operational losses in each of the last 10 years. This is almost entirely due to the major limitations placed on commercial performance and opportunities by the lack of modern facilities at Knowsley Road. There are no profits to reinvest in the stadium, only losses to fund.

* MORRISONS: The club is not using their own financial resources to improve the stadium.
SAINTS:The major financial investor and direct contributor to the new stadium is St Helens RLFC. However, the major beneficiary of the club's financial commitment will note the shareholders, who are making the contribution, but the town of St Helens itself which will consequently benefit from years of business regeneration and economic improvements.

* MORRISONS The club is not investing in its playing squad and not signing any new players as is borne out by results.
SAINTS: The first team squad has 17 internationals and contains the bulk of the GB team.It has recently re-signed its key players on long-term contracts, in addition to a New Zealand international and it has the most successful youth academy in the game. The club has also won six of the last seven major trophies in the game.

* MORRISONS: The club has an owner who is not investing anything. SAINTS:Chairman Eamonn McManus has personally funded the losses for each of the last seven years and continues to do so. This is in addition to him rescuing the club from administration in 2002. A major redevelopment of Knowsley Road is a non-finance able proposition with a new stadium the only practicable option to ensure the commercial future of the club which cannot continue to be dependant on the financial support of an individual or individuals.

* MORRISONS: A potential loss of Super League status is utter nonsense.
SAINTS: THE RFL has written in detail and directly to all clubs and to the local authority setting out the high degree of important accorded to stadium facilities in determining licence issuance. Due to the new stadium proposals of St Helens they are likely to be awarded a three year licence in 2008, but failure of the planning application will be highly prejudicial to the licence renewal of the club in 2001. The Saints' statement went on: "The level of ignorance by Morrisons in their letters to residents have only been exceeded in their arrogance in assuming that the public will be imbecilic enough to believe any aspect of their crude and ill-founded smear campaign. "In particular, they have as much right and ability to be commenting on the content and quality of our squad as we have to comment on the contents and quality of their baked beans. "Regardless of the outcome of the planning applications, Morrisons under-hand tactics and disdain for the public is likely to have a severe negative effect on their brand and reputation."