Coventry Rugby didn't effectively manage supporters' expectations during that period. Although senior figures in the club have since stated that they anticipated the RFU's rejection of their Premiership bid and viewed it as a chance to identify areas for improvement before reapplying in the future, at the time of the bid, it seemed to be a sincere effort to compete for the Championship for the rest of the season and to seriously contend in the playoffs if Cov won the league i