
Daryl Powell was sacked as head coach of Warrington Wolves on Sunday night after a heavy defeat to bottom side Wakefield Trinity condemned them to a sixth straight loss.
It brought to an end a difficult two-year spell at the Halliwell Jones Stadium for Powell, who struggled desperately in his first season as the Wolves finished 11th despite high expectations prior to the campaign.
Have failed to live up to the hype in 2022, the current season looked to be playing out very differently for the former Castleford Tigers boss as Warrington started the season with eight straight victories to storm to the top of the league.
But that was as good as it got at the Cheshire club for Powell as injuries and suspensions started to mount, and form started to slip, with the Wolves now clinging on to the final playoff place in sixth.
When Powell’s departure was announced by the club on Sunday night, it was revealed that Head of Youth and former Wire player Gary Chambers would take over on an interim basis alongside Richard Marshall.
And speaking to the press for the first time today ahead of Friday’s home match against league leaders’ Catalans Dragons, Chambers revealed Powell came back to speak to the players on Monday morning after his sacking.
“It was a tough day on Monday for everyone,” said Chambers. “You know if you think about how it was going and what the lads came into, it was more about just getting them through the day.
“They obviously, first and foremost, played a game on the Sunday and were sore, stuff and tired, and then you know we had meetings early on.
“Then Daryl came back and spoke to them and it was just like an emotional roller coaster. So it was a tough day for some people.”
Chambers then revealed the first thing he said to the players, while also stating his belief that the current group can turn things around.
“I mean the first thing I said to them is it’s important that they’re alright, because they’re human beings and all of this and they have families to look after and their families will be worried about things.
“It’s more about looking after the person, get them through that day and then we’ll start looking to move on with them.
“I’m sure that by losing a coach and everything that goes with that, the pride is going to be hurting. They are good professionals, and they will bounce back.”
