Jon Wilkin blames fans for Andy Last losing his job

Last night Castleford Tigers announced the appointment of former Leeds Rhinos star and London Broncos coach Danny Ward as the replacement for Andy last.

Last left the club after a 28-0 defeat to Huddersfield Giants which for 48 hours left them bottom of the league.

The Tigers are in serious peril so this appointment of Ward simply has to pay off as they prepare to take on Wakefield Trinity next weekend.

That could be a do or die game whilst the decision to part with Last and bring in Ward is also a do or die decision by the club with their Super League status on the line and the rugby league world set to change when IMG end generic promotion and relegation in favour of gradings.

So a big move, Jon Wilkin has now had his say blaming fans for the decision.

“I am surprised by it. There was a big study in 2016 and it showed that there was a small group of really good coaches, a small group of really bad coaches and then a middle group and what quite often determines success in that middle group is luck,” he said on Sky Sports.

“I think Cas have been unlucky and Andy Last is a victim. There is some evidence that you get a boost from changing a coach but it is desperate times and quite often clubs react to what fans are saying whether they are right or wrong, if the fans aren’t happy they are usually the reason a coach gets sacked and that is probably the case with Andy Last after that protest.”

After the defeat to Huddersfield fans stayed in the stands as a form of protest as mentioned by Wilkin.

The Tigers then cancelled Last’s post match press responsibilities and then a statement confirmed his departure.

The club then made a statement confirming Andy Last’s exit from the club with some huge games waiting around the corner.

That had read:

“Castleford Tigers can confirm that Andy Last has departed the club with immediate effect.

“The club will make a further statement after the weekend.”

It is vitally important that Castleford Tigers find some wins soon having made some big signings to turn their season around such as Blake Austin from Leeds Rhinos.

That game at Wakefield Trinity is huge.