Ahead of the 2026 campaign, St Helens have signed St George Illawarra Dragons and Australia forward David Klammer, former Man of Steel Jackson Hastings, Wigan’s Jacob Douglas and ex-Salford pair Nene Macdonald and Joe Shorrocks.
The club have also tied up Jake Wingfield, Daryl Clark, Matt Whitley, Curtis Sironen, Jake Burns and Agnatius Paasi to new contracts.
Despite the changes in the off season, McManus does not believe Saints have taken a gamble with their recruitment.
“Everything’s a calculated risk. It’s not a gamble. But it’s obvious to all that the results of the past two to three years have not been at the level [required],” he added.
“You can’t expect continuous success, and it denigrates other clubs who have really improved.
“There’s been huge investment in a lot of clubs over the past two or three years, so the landscape in Super League isn’t what it was. You no longer have three or four teams who would pick and choose players and inevitably the competition was between them. It’s much more competitive.
“There are many more clubs chasing and producing top-class players.”