Danny McGuire has become the fifth head coach to leave Castleford Tigers in the last two and a half years.
He was only appointed in October, taking the reins for the first time as a head coach following the club’s the decision to part ways with Craig Lingard after just one season in charge.
Appointing the inexperienced McGuire was always a gamble by incoming Tigers owner Martin Jepson, but it was one he felt was right at the time, putting a big personality in charge to spearhead the club’s attempts to become a force within Super League.
The last nine months haven’t panned out that way, though, and McGuire leaves after sealing just four wins in the Tigers’ hotseat, with Castleford rooted in 10th.
Castleford Tigers sack head coach Danny McGuire as chairman explains decision
That record doesn’t tell the whole story, though. Far from it, in fact, with McGuire being cut loose while the club were generally trending in a positive direction under his guidance.
Last Thursday’s loss to Huddersfield Giants was a damning one and there’s no skirting around that, but the week before the club had come within two minutes of beating champions Wigan Warriors.
The win over Hull FC at the MKM Stadium was hugely encouraging, too, while there were positives to take in defeats to Warrington Wolves and Leeds Rhinos.
Indeed, Castleford looked to be taking steps towards improvement even if results were not necessarily, and they were doing it with a squad that is still very much a work in progress with new signings coming on board.
The likes of Tom Amone, Chris Atkin, Joe Stimson and Brad Singleton have been brought in on the fly in recent months, but they’ve managed to make an impact and improve the group at The Jungle after what was a poor off-season of recruitment, it has to be said.
McGuire had it tough from the start at The Jungle, taking over a squad in dire need of an influx of talent. There are a few gems in the Tigers line-up but evidently not enough, and that wasn’t helped by recruits Daejarn Asi, Jeremiah Simbiken and Judah Rimbu largely failing to meet expectations.
That told early doors as McGuire’s side exited the Challenge Cup to Championship side Bradford Bulls and won just one of their first eight Super League games. The project was clearly a long-term one then but with Chris Chester coming on board to work alongside McGuire as a director of rugby, the head coach will have been looking forward to the off-season to continue building his squad.
As it is, Chester will be the man preparing the Tigers for Sunday’s trip to lowly Salford Red Devils, but the former Leigh Leopards man can be expected to have a big role to play in appointing the next man to take the Castleford reins.
Who that will be remains to be seen, of course, but McGuire would have every right to wonder would could have been as he watches his former club move on in a different direction.
History might not remember much beyond the 42-year-old’s challenging record at Wheldon Road, but McGuire can leave the club with his head held relatively high.
