Every word Castleford Tigers’ Chris Chester said on Danny McGuire sacking, the decision, NRL coach interest, applicants and recruitment

Castleford Tigers director of rugby and interim head coach Chris Chester sat down in front of the media this afternoon to discuss what has been a turbulent week at The Jungle.

This was the first time anyone involved at Castleford Tigers had spoken since Danny McGuire was sacked by the club on Monday. As such, Chester was tasked with explaining the reason behind the decision, the situation now and what might be to come, with the former Leigh Leopards man leading the push to find a new head coach.

Here’s what Chester had to say on the last few days and how the Tigers move on.

How have things unfolded there this week, can you give a timeline from the club’s point of view?

I got called into a board meeting on Monday and we’ve obviously got quite a few new board members now at the club with some ambitious plans that have been put forward off the field. There was a decision made in the boardroom that they felt that as a club we’d gone backwards.

In terms of the points and results, we’re in a worse position than what we were 12 months ago, I think we were sat on 11 points and this year we’re sat on eight after 17 games. The board decided that they needed a fresh approach and they needed to bring someone else to lead us into a new era in 2026. It was a very difficult day for everybody. I had to deliver the news to Danny straight after the board meeting and he was obviously very, very, very disappointed, as you would expect.

Did you see it coming, were you surprised by the call?

It wasn’t a phone call, I had to go and meet with Danny face to face. I’ve been in that position where it’s been done on a call and it’s been done face to face. I felt the right thing to do was to chat to Danny face to face on it. It didn’t go down well and Danny was obviously very disappointed with the decision, which I understand. We have a new board here, some new board members that have come in and wanted to see change and it’s always difficult. I have to support the board in every way I possibly can.

What was the reaction of the playing group?

It’s hard to tell. We had a discussion on Tuesday, I sat everyone done and made it quite clear to everybody that collectively, this has all happened because of us, the people in that room. We’ve not been good enough, myself, the staff, the players, could we have done better? Probably everyone in that room could have said yeah. At the end of the day, it’s a results based industry and we haven’t had results this year. The club felt they wanted to go in a different direction.

How has it been for you getting your whistle back out?

I’m just here to support the three coaches that are here. I’m here to front up in front of the media, do those duties. I don’t want to be a head coach again. I loved my time, I had eight years as a head coach but my primary focus is director of rugby. That’s the role I’m still doing now, making decisions on recruitment but like I said, I’m simply here to assist and help out.

There’s three good coaches at the club already in Brett Delaney, Scott Murrell and Rob Nickolay, I’m just as I was previous, a sounding board and I have some ideas I think I can help with but the sessions are run by those guys. I’m taking a close eye on everything that’s going on. It was a shock to everyone and to me but I made it clear that once the board had made the decision, I didn’t want to be a head coach. That’s not my bag anymore. I really enjoy the role I currently do in recruitment and putting building blocks in place.

So Brett Delaney is still at Castleford Tigers?

All three are still here. We want some kind of continuity and whoever that coach is in the weeks to come, whether that’s in two, three, four weeks or whether that’s the end of the season, those guys have made it clear that they want to still be here moving forward and I think they’re excited by what’s happening off the field and with the players that we’ve signed. Those guys will play a massive part in this next block of 10 games.

How involved are you?

Listen, I go in and sit down with the staff and we talk about what the training is, what we need to do and we look at video together. I want them guys to deliver on the training field and make the message really clear of what our identity is and what we need to do on a weekend. I’ve got some experience in coaching but I’m just the eyes and ears and an extra voice really. In terms of what happens on the field, I’m present, just like I was when Danny was here but the emphasis is on these coaches taking responsibility. I’m obviously involved in team selection as well.

What about the new head coach?

Yes, it is. I will obviously have to put some names together, there’s been well over 20 applications already from UK coaches and overseas and I think it’s my job to look at those applicants and look at streamlining that list to get it to around four or five once I’ve done my homework and then present to the board.

At the end of the day we’ll probably sit in front of the applicants, have a bit of an interview and decide then. It’s such an important time for this club, there’s things going on off the field that haven’t been announced yet, there’s a new vision from the board and it’s really important that we get the appointment right.

If that takes until the end of the season then we’ll do that. Ideally for me it would be better if it’s done in the next three or four weeks. We just have to get it right. There’s no pressure from anybody to make a rash decision, we just have to do what’s right for the club.

Have the identities of any of those applications surprised you?

What I will say is there’s a lot of NRL talent that have put their name forward. There’s some high profile coaches over there who have applied. That’s really positive for the club, I think they know and can feel the direction the club wants to go in. I think it’s really exciting, the calibre of applicants that we’ve had email through and the phone calls I’ve had over the last 24-48 hours.

How important is it that this appointment is a long-termer?

I think it’s really important. I keep referencing what’s happening off the field and the board’s ambition. We can’t keep doing what we’re doing as a club, bringing coaches in and getting rid of them after 12 months. We need some kind of consistency on and off the field. We have to start rewarding the fans and we have a board of directors who are throwing a lot of money into the club and we have to reward those guys. We do that by just having plenty of effort and desire and keep working hard. In terms of the coach, we need a development coach, we need a coach that’s going to come in and develop the squad and take them to a new level. We just need to make sure that we give whoever that coach is time to build a squad. I’ve already been working very hard off the field in terms of recruitment and we’ve probably got six or seven announcements to make over the coming weeks. I think that will come off the back of the other big news coming out of the club. It’s important we get it right. I certainly don’t want to have those conversations any time soon.

What kind of traits are looking for from the successful applicant?

Just a development coach that’s got experience in the NRL. I want someone who’s pretty new and pretty fresh. I think an attacking style of rugby as well. We have some exciting players and we’ve signed some exciting players for 2026 so an attack-minded coach and someone who is just going to build and develop and make the individuals better.

So there was no disagreement, the decision was simply performance based?

No disagreement whatsoever. I’ve supported Danny from day one walking through the door. I’m not part of the board, it was a decision made by the board of directors.

Would you want someone from the NRL?

I just want a young, hungry coach that’s going to develop the players. I look John Cartwright at Hull FC and the difference he’s made going in there. I look at the job Adrian Lam did going from Championship to Super League to Challenge Cup winners. Very very good coaches in their own right and Lammy is someone who can really galvanise a team and you only look at that squad that we assembled, you’d say that he’s improved nearly every single player in that group. That’s what we’re looking at in terms of the coach for ’26.

What are the new challenges this brings in recruitment?

To be honest, we’ve not really had any challenges. From my perspective it’s about the vision of the club for the next few years and I’ve had some really good positive chats with NRL agents and players, it’s not thrown up much challenges. We’ve said this year that we’ll spend the full salary cap and we’re well underway with recruitment. We’ve got six or seven players that are already going to improve the squad but what I will do is just hang fire until we make that decision on who the head coach is. The last thing I want is to bring someone in and they might want to bring someone else in or their own player in and we have to make sure we have enough cap space for that to happen. We’ve had a lot of good feedback from agents in the NRL and players are wanting to come over to the UK and Castleford Tigers in particular. I’m really excited about what the future holds.

It is fair to say a few of those signings are made are from the NRL?

Yeah, it’s fair to say. With the quota spots going up, we’re looking at the 10 quota spots and that opens another avenue, there’ll be some oversea and UK based players.

Do you think Danny can bounce back from this and become a success in Super League as a head coach?

Yeah I do. I definitely do. Danny is a good coach, an emotional guy and he expects high standards. He is a good communicator with his players and has a lot of good traits. I wish him well and hopefully he finds another job within Super League, it’s never a nice thing to have to tell someone but I’m pretty sure Danny will bounce back and make a real fist of it whether it’s as an assistant or head coach at another Super League club.