Just after 11pm last night the news broke from Wheldon Road that Andy Last has been sacked as Castleford Tigers boss with defeat to Huddersfield Giants leading Cas to slip to the foot of the table.
It seems last night’s 28-0 loss was the straw that broke the camel’s back as it was a fifth consecutive defeat and one that marked a total record of just four wins in nineteen games for Last, the second worst at the club since recorded data back to 1980.
The Tigers now have six games to save their season with the next one being the most important as it pits them against relegation rivals Wakefield Trinity at Belle Vue.
Should the Tigers lose that game then it’s hard to see a way back, especially if Trinity pick up a win tomorrow against Hull FC to draw two points clear.
The decision to sack Last comes just 36 hours after his press conference in which he told BBC West Yorkshire that the club are behind him “100%”.
Speaking at midday on Thursday, Last was asked if he felt he had the support of the club and he unanimously claimed that he did, with those words being among the last he said as Castleford boss after he didn’t attend press post-game last night.
“The backing of the club 100%, the playing group are fully behind me, I know the club are fully behind me and there’s sections of the supporters who are maybe not but there’s a lot of the supporters who are. Those are the die-hards, they support the team, they don’t just support the coach, they support the team. We need those supporters with the team. I think that’s really, really important.
“They’ve been brilliant in supporting the team, and I want them to continue supporting the team. They can air their frustrations at me, I understand that, I understand that comes with the territory, there’s a lot of passion and a lot of emotion involved on game nights and it becomes very emotional.”
He also commented on social media and how he doesn’t use it, which will be handy in the coming days given the way that fans reacted to his dismissal.
“Don’t listen to it. Social media, you know, Facebook, all that type of stuff, it’s just negativity that I don’t need in my life, so I stay well away from it.
“Those people can say what they like on the forums and all that type of stuff, the only time I hear about it is from someone like yourself telling me or someone on the street telling me. I can’t let that affect my mentality going into games. I’m not aware of it and I don’t let it affect me.”
