Canterbury premiership-winning fullback Luke Patten has made a plea to crowds to stop treating his English Super League club, Salford, as a laughing stock, British media reports.

The Reds finished 11th on the Super League table in 2011 in a season that saw four coaches take charge, including Australian Matt Parish.

“Last year people saw us as a laughing stock and that was probably fair enough because of all the dramas that were going on,” Patten, 32, told British tabloids.

“I just want the club to be run properly now because the fans deserve that.”

Assistant coach Phil Veivers, who was one of the four men at the helm of the club last year, has been named head coach for the upcoming season which begins on Saturday.

Patten is due to return to Australia at the end of the 2013 season when his contract with Salford ends. He has shown an interest in one day becoming a referee.