Last Friday night Castleford Tigers parted company with Head Coach Andy Last following a 28-0 defeat to Huddersfield Giants.
Last replaced Lee Radford as Head Coach like he did at Hull FC in 2020 on an interim basis.
He led the club to some key wins throughout the season against Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity which secured him the job on a two and a half year deal.
The Tigers looked safe at the Magic Weekend when they defeated Leeds in a great game and Wakefield Trinity lost to 12 man Leigh Leopards but their West Yorkshire rivals have stormed ahead and the two are level on points.
After the defeat to Huddersfield fans stayed in the stands as a form of protest as covered by Sky Sports.
The Tigers then cancelled Last’s post match press responsibilities and then a statement confirmed his departure.
With a huge game against Wakefield coming and only a few games remaining to secure survival in the Betfred Super League fans have been worried about the future but the club have now broken their silence on the matter confirming they expect a new coach to be appointed by Wednesday.
They said:
“Castleford Tigers would like to provide supporters with the following update regarding the club’s search for a new Head Coach.
“The club are hopeful of providing an announcement regarding who will take on the role by Wednesday this week.
“We would also like to acknowledge and thank the Fords faithful for their support and patience at this time.”
That statement came after the club had initially release an even short statement on Friday evening which announced the sacking of Last.
That had read:
“Castleford Tigers can confirm that Andy Last has departed the club with immediate effect.
“The club will make a further statement after the weekend.”
Current assistant coach Craig Lingard, who joined mid season and is currently splitting his time between the Tigers and his Batley Bulldogs, spoke earlier to BBC West Yorkshire providing an update to fans regarding what he knew on the situation.
“You know as much as me at this moment in time. All I know is that discussions are happening. From what I read in the media, discussions are happening. I’m sure as soon as decisions are made, then phone calls will be made, hopefully, to let people know what the situation is. Whoever is left there staff-wise and player-wise, there will be 100% commitment to the end of the season.”
