Lee Radford this week was relieved of his duties at Castleford Tigers after three defeats in a row however a man who used to work for the Tigers has said it was less about the defeats and more about the overall state of the club.
He said on Sky Sports last night:
“It is a very early change and keen focus is the mention of going different ways.
“I would say it is less to do with performance and more to do with these comments:”
He then identified the following comments from the Tigers’ defeat to St Helens recently:
“There are so many changes that need t be made right across the club for that to happen from top to bottom.
“St Helens are an elite club in every department.
“Changing that in a club is difficult sometimes.”
From this, Wells went on to explain how a lack of money is what holds the Tigers back warning that if things don’t change, the problems will persist for the next coach:
“The simple fact is this: substantial change in any club needs two things – a will and a way and the way to be frank is investment and money.
“That is the crux of the matter for Lee Radford and the club. All coaches want investment, they want warm weather training camps, the best strength and conditioning, and the club has a limited budget to do that.
“The salary cap is ÂŁ2.1 million and the central distribution is ÂŁ1.5 million so there is a ÂŁ600,000 shortfall to make up before a ball is kicked and that is before we talk marquee players.
“Any club would want to develop homegrown players like Wigan and Saints and have the best environments. They’re frustrations. The club is working very hard to get over the shortfall and give the coach what he wants. You need money to re-position a club.
“It is a massive challenge for clubs without a wealthy benefactor. The route to change is long term investment especially in an academy environment.
“I think they are the frustrations more than anything else that have faced Lee Radford, they certainly were for the coach before and if they don’t change it will be for the next coach.”