CHAIRMAN Bill Bolsover admitted he had not received assurances from Worcester Warriors' new owners that there would be investment into the playing squad.

But Bolsover has pledged to hand Warriors’ rising stars “long-term” contracts as he stressed how important the club’s academy would be in Jed McCrory’s tenure.

McCrory’s consortium, including Errol Pope, Scott Priestnall and David Seymour, completed a takeover of the Premiership outfit on Monday.

Latest accounts show Warriors lost £8.1million for the 2016-17 campaign.

But Bolsover said: “We now have commitment from our new backers that we are going into the next two or three years with the cash to be able to sustain and build this club both on and off the pitch.”

With the support of the club's shareholders director of rugby Alan Solomons was able to make 11 signings this summer.

But when questioned whether he had been given assurances that there would be funds available to strengthen Warriors’ squad Bolsover said: “I haven’t because I haven’t needed it.

“We have put a lot into the squad this year and now we have got to deliver what we have got to put in over the summer.

“There is not a great need to say ‘Where is the investment for rugby?'

“But over the next few months we are able to speak to players and say ‘OK, now we want to renew contracts’.

“When we get to the renewing process we know what we want to do and we are able to do it. I don’t see that as a problem.

“In a sense (the takeover does kickstart the process) but we don’t do contract renewals until the end of the year.”

Warriors’ academy has a history of developing promising players only to lose them to their Premiership rivals.

Bolsover identified Ted Hill, 19, Ollie Lawrence, 19, and Will Butler, 20, as being among a strong crop of bright prospects that he was keen to retain.

“What is important — and this is where Jed comes in — is the academy,” said Bolsover who was appointed onto Warriors’ board in 2011.

“Before I came to Worcester what I saw was (Warriors) losing academy (players) to other clubs.

“We have got four or five very strong academy players coming through into the first-team squad.

“We have got to ensure that they are happy in making their careers in rugby in Worcester and I think that’s the big change I want.

“I don’t want to see us losing players out of our academy or (in the) first year and then moving away to other clubs. To do that we have got to move up the table.”

When asked what the new owners’ intentions were with the academy, Bolsover added: “They want to build on the younger element of the community.

“They said this is the biggest club in Worcestershire and we need to build it.

“That means making sure that our community work and our scouts are getting out to the clubs and bringing the right people in here and not letting other clubs — which has happened recently — coming into our areas to take players out of the schools or clubs.

“We want them to have the right feed and want to come through Worcester Warriors.

“We have got it now but what we have got to do is move them from that academy and into long-term contracts within the first team.”