Highlanders project manager Roger Clark has had his contract extended until the end of the month as he continues his work for the franchise, while new coach Jamie Joseph has immediately got into his work.
Clark, the chief executive of Rugby Southland, was appointed to the role for three months in May and was scheduled to finish on August 13.
But Highlanders chairman Ross Laidlaw said Clark still had work to do and the contract had been extended until August 31.
He said Clark had been reviewing everything within the Highlanders organisation, and this had taken longer than anticipated.
Clark had been working hard, Laidlaw said, but more work needed to be done, with a particular focus on player recruitment.
The Highlanders have appointed new coaches for next season, with Joseph named as head coach last month and Southland co-coach Simon Culhane named last week as his assistant.
Glenn Moore had one year left in his contract but was shown the door, while his assistant, Peter Russell, did not seek another contract after his two-year deal ran out.
Moore could not be contacted yesterday but Laidlaw said Moore and the New Zealand Rugby Union were negotiating over compensation for the one year left on his contract.
Laidlaw said Clark was focused on getting players to sign for next season.
With the season growing by five games, squads would be increased to 32 players from the 28 named this season.
The Highlanders have missed out on fullback Israel Dagg, who announced last week he was off to the Crusaders for the next two years.
Laidlaw said losing Dagg was undoubtedly a blow but the side was not able to keep everybody.
"It would have been nice to have kept him [Dagg] but you have to balance the loss of him against any new acquisitions.
We are trying hard to get quite a few new people," he said.
Negotiations were continuing with loose forward Adam Thomson and All Black lock Tom Donnelly, who come off contract with Otago at the end of the season.
Joseph arrived in Dunedin yesterday and immediately got into his work, observing Otago at training.
Laidlaw also said the financial accounts for the past season were one to two months away from being finalised.
The franchise had budgeted for a loss this season, and one would be posted, Laidlaw said.
He could not give any indication of the size of the loss, but said an earlier report by the Herald on Sunday of a $400,000 loss was wrong.
