HULL KR chief executive Mike Smith is urging potential new investors to ensure current owners Neil Hudgell and Rob Crossland remain at the club in some capacity.
The Robins are in the early stages of talks with a number of interested parties after Hudgell and Crossland warned they won't fund the club alone again next season.
Smith, who has been responsible for the day to day running of KR since 2009, has seen first-hand the huge impact the pair have had at the Robins, covering annual losses of around £500,000 between them.
With that in mind, he says he understands their decision to call it a day, but says it would be a 'travesty' for them to leave should the club secure investment to move forward.
"Neil and Rob have brought this club so far, from the dark days, so to me, it'd be so unjust were they not to be part of a bright new future given all they have achieved," Smith said.
"They have assured people they will go until the end of the season, and hopefully everything they have done will ensure people want to help take us to the next level."
Smith says Hudgell and Crossland's determination to see Rovers succeed has brought about the current crossroads.
"I had a conversation with Rob recently, after a previous investment promise failed to materialise, and he said he'd rather be stood watching us win the cup from a distance than not be watching us at all," he said.
"Neil and I discussed the possibility of cutting costs and being a basement team for a few years, but if they think that's the limit of their achievements, they don't want to be part of it.
"Rob and Neil want to compete at the top. They've had an option of not spending to the salary cap in recent years, but it has always been them pushing the boundaries.
"That's why we signed people like Cory Paterson and Travis Burns, because we think they are brilliant players. That's what Neil and Rob want."
Smith says he has no idea what will happen if the club fails to find fresh investment or a buyer at end of the season.
However, he insists one thing isn't presently being discussed at the club.
"Nobody here has spoken of folding or going into administration. It is too big a club to do that," he said.
"People have asked me whether I think Neil and Rob will stay. I think they will, but only if we can get the money.
"If we are going to be bottom four, aiming for the top-eight every now and then, they are not interested.
"We are talking to a lot of people, and there is an awful lot there for someone to build on, but I don't want to sit back and see Neil and Rob not be part of that, because I think it would be a travesty."
"Personally for me, alongside Peter May who chose to step down recently, I think they have done a superb job by continually putting their hands in their pockets and keeping the club where it is.
"They are massive fans and that is why they have done it so long."
