Castleford Tigers owner Martin Jepson has spoken almost a week after the sacking of Danny McGuire to explain the club’s reasons and next steps.
Danny McGuire was sacked last Monday with the decision coming as a surprise to most people. It came following the Tigers’ defeat to Huddersfield Giants but still caught many out given the quality, or lack of it, that Castleford have.
Chris Chester was appointed as the interim head coach with the Director of Rugby taking charge of his first game today (Sunday) against Salford.
Owner Martin Jepson spoke to Sky Sports at half time of that game to explain the decision to sack Danny McGuire, the plans going forward, and when could Castleford Tigers new head coach be appointed.
Jepson invested in Castleford during the 2023 season but took up an option to become owner in October last year, quickly sacking Craig Lingard and hiring Danny McGuire as the Tigers’ head coach.
He’s now explained why he sacked him just nine months into a three-year deal.
What Castleford Tigers’ owner said on Danny McGuire and hunt for a head coach
Could you explain the thought process that led you to release Danny McGuire?
“These things are never easy. It’s no slight on the people involved. Danny McGuire has got a long history in the game and he worked very hard.
“We just felt that we’re in a reset period and we’re already in recruitment drive for next year. We’ve got plans for what we want to do next year and we just felt that a change of direction was needed.
“We’re just looking ahead to next year. As far as I’m concerned, this season we start looking ahead to next year and part of that was looking at our coaching set-up.”
What changed from last October when you appointed Danny McGuire?
“I don’t regret what we did. He brought a new professionalism to the club and that’s what we were really looking for at that time.
“At the same time, you have to make hard decisions and look at how things are moving at this moment in time and really plan ahead for the direction of travel we want in the next 12 to 24 months.”
A number of recent coaches have a similar win percentage, is the problem with the players?
“Maybe it is, I can’t speak for before my time. I only took control of the club at the end of May after taking my option in October.
“We need to get more out of the players. I don’t think the players are as bad as the performance suggests. I’m not suggesting we’re the finished article, we’re miles from there and it’s a rebuilding process.
“I inherited a team on a certain salary cap budget and it’s difficult to turn those things around overnight because you have players on contracts.
“We’ve been reshaping the team as the season has gone on. Look at the numbers on the back of our shirts, we’re into the 40s. I inherited a club where we were weak in certain areas and we’ve been trying to backfill that.
“Next season, we can’t be doing that again. We need to be starting the season with the squad that we want to finish with.”
Danny McGuire inherited that same team, why couldn’t he stay in be in charge of recruitment next year?
“We’ve been tinkering with that over the course of the year and you have to look at the whole thing and we felt it was the right time to move on at this moment in time.
“These decisions are never easy but you have to make what you think are the right decisions at the moment in time for the good of the club.”
How long do you expect before you can hire a new coach?
“There’s no fixed time limit on it. We definitely need the person in charge for the start of pre-season and bought into the squad next year.
“There’s no need to rush into it in the next week or two. The time is to have him available for the start of next year.
“What I would say is that we’ve been very pleasantly surprised at the number of applications we’ve had without necessarily going out and touting for applications.
“We’ve got a long list now (both from this country and Australia) of people who have put their hands up. I’d like to think that we must be doing something right to attract that number of people because I’m not sure we would have got them 12 or 18 months ago.”
Castleford owner Martin Jepson explains why the club sacked Danny McGuire 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/QRE6bgKxpg
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) July 13, 2025
John Dalton
July 13, 2025 at 6:39 pm
He appointed him, he sacked him. What an anchor……………