Championship

Former Super League boss backed as club release statement of support after slow start

by
Sam Cook
May 16, 2025

Sheffield Eagles head coach Craig Lingard Championship

A former Super League head coach who has overseen a slow start to 2025 in the Championship has been backed by his current club, who have shared a statement of support which outlines new plans going forward.

Despite assembling a strong squad for 2025 which included former Super League men such as Jack Walker, Corey Johnson and Reiss Butterworth, Sheffield Eagles have struggled so far.

The Eagles sit in tenth with just three wins from their nine Championship games, two of which have come against teams below them in the table.

With no fixture this weekend, the club’s Board of Directors have released a statement supporting former Castleford Tigers head coach Craig Lingard, who was appointed to the Championship outfit in late 2024.

Lingard took over from Mark Aston who had been suspended by the RFL and was pencilled in to take on the role of Director of Rugby, a role which has now been shelved with Aston set to work in another role.

Former Super League coach Craig Lingard backed by Sheffield Eagles

We’ve already seen a statement of support for a Championship manager this season and that came for Featherstone Rovers’ James Ford, however, he was releived of his position shortly after.

However, the Eagles have released a lengthy statement which clearly shows direction and has seen the board put their weight of support behind the former Super League coach Lingard.

The club statement read: “Following a review of Head Coach Craig Lingard’s first six months in post, the board of Sheffield Eagles has moved to put on record its support of the new Coach and his backroom staff and have praised them for their efforts since he was appointed in December 2024.

“As part of the review, the Board considered the financial position of the club, and it was decided that a Director of Rugby role is no longer affordable. As such, (Mark) Aston will continue solely in his commercial role with the club.”

The Board of Directors added their own statement, explaining: “The board recognises the amount of upheaval and change which the club has been through in the past year, and we would like to publicly thank Craig Lingard and his team for their efforts and dedication to the club during this period of change.

“Craig and all his off-field team are good, hardworking and honest people and have been putting in a huge amount of effort to their roles, in some difficult circumstances, with the single aim of making Sheffield Eagles a success.

“Whilst the club has ambitions to compete at the top end of the Championship, and there have been some disappointing results this year, the board does not underestimate the efforts which the coaching staff have been putting in to refocus the squad and to get the results that everyone at the club deserves and want to ensure that these efforts do not go unrecognised.”

They continued, adding: “As part of the review of progress, the board is confident that Lingard and his team have the necessary skills, contacts and support within the club structure to develop and recruit future talent for Sheffield Eagles and to shape the men’s team for future seasons to be successful.

“As the club looks to prioritise resources, it has been determined not to continue with a future role of director of rugby, which is neither affordable or required for a club of our size to have in addition to a full-time coach. Mark Aston has been informed of this and is currently working with the board to develop and expand the commercial operations of the club to increase and diversify commercial revenue coming into the club in the role to which he was appointed in December 2024.

“The coaching team is actively working collaboratively with the board to re-contract retention targets in the current squad and identify new recruits for the 2026 season and beyond, whilst continuing the drive to improve performance in the current season.”