NEWPORT Gwent Dragons chief executive Stuart Davies says he is reassured by the Welsh Rugby Union’s commitment to professional rugby in the region – but admits the “clock is ticking” to secure fresh investment at Rodney Parade.

The Dragons are hunting for fresh private backing after announcing plans last April that would see Newport RFC and the governing body relinquish their 50 per cent stakes.

WRU chief executive Martyn Phillips said on Thursday: “There is no way that I’d be able to stand here and not have a professional club in Gwent without knowing that I’d done everything I could.”

He stated that the governing body wouldn’t rule out taking over at Rodney Parade but that his preference was for a combination of union funding and fresh private backing in the east.

Phillips comments were followed by former Dragons captain Michael Owen telling the BBC that the region should be moved elsewhere in Wales if new investors want them to, suggesting Pontypridd or the north.

However, Davies has stressed that the Union are committed to helping professional rugby flourish at Rodney Parade.

He said: “Everyone is aware of what we are trying to achieve here and there were certain headlines following Martyn Phillips’ press conference that I felt were not reasonable in terms of the context.

“As far as I am concerned he issued a very reassuring message that he won’t let rugby die in Gwent, it’s not dying and he simply said that he would step in if we were in financial trouble.

“We haven’t embarked on what we have embarked on because we are in financial trouble, it’s because of our aspirations and ambition, our wish to become more successful, improve and be more competitive.

“I took it as a very supportive message that the Union and Martyn are wholly supportive of that process.

“They are joint owners of the Dragons as well as governors of the game in Wales, so quite naturally we have been close to them throughout this process and we have shared with them our intentions and ambitions.

“Martyn and the Union have been hugely supportive of what we are trying to achieve and I am comfortable of the position and reassured by the fact he has publically stated how important it is that professional rugby continues in Gwent.”

There has been plenty of interest in the Dragons’ proposals but the chief executive admits that the process, and converting such approaches, is reaching crunch time.

Davies said: “It’s fair that Martyn said it is becoming more urgent. We have had a lot of interest that we have had to boil down, when you look at the detail, to how it manifests itself in respect of the terms that certain investors are prepared to come on board.

“That is understood now and I suppose my board have to consider whether their proposals are acceptable or not.

“There is a strong legacy issue in terms of the handing over the reins but we are at a very important stage.

“I’ve wanted it to be a very private matter in so much as I haven’t wanted to play it out in public but I am also conscious that it was announced last April and we felt that it would take us a year to sort everything out.

“The clock is ticking and the Union are very keen for us to resolve it, and I get that.”