Danny McGuire has outlined the principles that he will implement after being appointed as the new head coach of Castleford Tigers.
McGuire has ascended from the assistant coach role to the top job after the surprise sacking of head coach Craig Lingard, whose dismissal was among the first actions that new owner Martin Jepson made.
Jepson’s statement confirmed that whilst removing Lingard “wasn’t an easy decision”, he felt that it was “time for a different direction”. It was confirmed on Friday that the different direction in question was to go with McGuire.
It’s an appointment that has somewhat split fans with his lack of head coaching experience something many have pointed to, however, McGuire has now spoken to the fans about what they can expect of his coaching principles.
In a video shared by Castleford Tigers on X, McGuire revealed those principles as: “Hard work, commitment, playing for the badge, that’s what it’s all about.”
What Castleford Tigers fans can expect from Danny McGuire
Credit: SWpix
He’d continue by explaining that the players will be worked hard in pre-season with the former Leeds Rhinos men set to call on his playing experience to instill the right attitude among the squad.
McGuire said: “Pre-season is tough, it’s where you lay your foundations, when you’re 70 minutes into a game at the back end of the season, you call on some of the things that you’ve done in pre-season and it’s going to be no different.
“We’re going to work the players hard. I’ve been in some great environments, playing-wise and coaching-wise, and I’ve got my own beliefs on how things should be done so I’ll be looking to instil that into the players.
“I’ve also got some new ideas and hopefully it can all come together and we can be in a good position to come start the season.”
One of the ways in which Craig Lingard had massively advanced Castleford Tigers was the relationship between the team and the fans, in spite of the fact results were not always forthcoming.
It could even be argued that Lingard’s efforts to connect with the fans secured Grade A status with the club edging over the 7,500 average attendance to secure them the all-important IMG points to take them over the 15-point mark.
McGuire will have to continue that and he’s hopeful that the Castleford Tigers fans will get behind him and the team: “Hopefully, they’ll back us again, which I’m sure they will. I think the Cas fans are proud and really loyal in their support of the players.
“I suppose my job is to get our players in a position to do that justice so the fans can be proud of the performances that the players are putting in. I’m looking forward to seeing them on the terraces and getting behind the boys at the start of the season.”
He’d even send those fans a message of what they can expect come January when they’ll get a chance to see Cas run out in pre-season.
“I suppose all I can say to them is that the players will be working hard, they’ll be putting in the hard yards and by round one, we’ll be ready to play and hopefully putting on some performances that the fans are proud of.”
