Castleford Tigers coach Daryl Powell has admitted that when push comes to shove, his team just haven’t been good enough over their last three games – and they’ve let themselves down badly.
The Tigers now cannot make the top four barring a minor miracle concerning Huddersfield’s results, and last night’s loss to St Helens all-but ended their chances of grabbing fourth.
And Powell said afterwards that his side’s defending was an issue again, but did praise his team for their efforts throughout 2015.
“We scored enough points to win the game but we couldn’t defend well enough,” said Powell.
“We’re disappointed we’re not going to make the four. We’ve let ourselves down badly over the last three games.
“We’ve been all over the place defensively but we’ve played some outstanding rugby league all year and we did tonight.”
Powell also added that if they want to turn into top four regulars in the coming years, they will need to employ an “attitude shift”.
“I thought there were loads of positives for us but there needs to be a bit of an attitude shift if we are to get into the top four on a regular basis.”