Mark Applegarth has refused to comment on reports that owner Clint Goodchild has left the club amid a possible takeover, with the York Knights boss expressing his disappointment at his side’s loss to Huddersfield Giants.
York fell to the Giants for a second time this season with Huddersfield recording their first win since beating York back in April as they won 24-22.
That loss for York came in the midst of reports that they will be taken over by a local businessman with Australian Goodchild leaving the club.
Companies House records show that Goodchild left the club as a director earlier in the month with that coming just days after Applegarth had himself teased positive news.
Asked shortly after today’s loss about the current reports, Applegarth told Sky Sports: “I think that’s not for me to answer, is it? If there’s anything to announce, it’ll be an announcement made by the club.
“My job is obviously to coach the players. If there is an announcement to be made, I’m sure that I’ll come to it.”
York Knights boss urges need for consistency after disappointing loss
As for the loss, Applegarth put it down to his side not being as desperate as their visitors and ultimately just playing with too much inconsistency.
“Obviously were a lot more desperate for us and a lot more composed in key moments,” he claimed.
“I thought we had our chances, I thought we started the game pretty brightly and then by the end of that first half we were very erratic.
“We spoke at half time about tightening this game up and building some sustained pressure on Huddersfield but it took us until that last 10 minutes to come out of our shell.
“I’m really disappointed. It’s probably the story of this year so far, very inconsistent and that’s what we’ve got to chase but ultimately that’s on me and that’s the message I’ll keep on chasing. I’m just trying to get there with that consistency and some pretty tough lessons that we’re learning but also some very important ones and we’ve got to learn them, it’s as simple as that.”
He would again point to consistency, citing key issues: “I think I’m more concerned with individual efforts, one on one missed tackles or just a bit of a lacking composure when we had some key moments ourselves.
“That’s what I mean by that inconsistency and if we want to be a good team at this level we’ve got to be a lot more clinical and a little bit more ruthless when we have a team in vulnerable spots.”
The Knights will play St Helens at home next week but far from paying attention to them, Applegarth was keen to explain what his side’s focus will be.
He said: “We want to fix what we’re doing wrong. We’re just focussing on ourselves at the moment, the opposition’s irrelevant. It’s getting that consistent performance and making sure we’re happy, as I say, all along with our brand of rugby that we can serve up.
“When you’re not playing consistently well or consistently in your performance you’ve just got to make sure that you’re happy with that first and foremost. So as I said, that’s on me and that’s the message that I’ll be nailing on.”
The @Giantsrl get their third win of the season 🙌 #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/qFm9Fmxqa1
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 25, 2026
