Chris Chester has expressed his disappointment at an article published suggesting a player revolt is taking place at Wakefield Trinity.
An article in the Daily Star said Chester had lost the dressing room and that several players believed Chester should be sacked after a run of form that has seen them win just five of their last 29 Super League games.
An unnamed source said: “He just doesn’t do anything properly or with any thought or planning. It would only be obvious if you had played under a really good coach, then it stands out like a sore thumb just how weak he is on the absolute basics.”
But Chester has hit back at the cowardice of the source, adding that the article had upset his family.
“The disappointing bit for myself is this person or persons hasn’t come to me and said anything and an article is allowed to be published with no basis or foundation,” he said.
“I’ve never been late for a session for all my life, whether that be here or Hull KR. There are things published there that are so far off the truth and there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t know if it’s a bitter ex-player or a bitter ex-coach that’s got an issue with me but I think there’s a deep-rooted issue here.
“I’m not willing to go into a great deal of detail but obviously I’m disappointed with the article that came out.
“It’s a personal attack. I’m quite thick-skinned as a coach and you’ve got to be but the disappointing thing is when it starts affecting your family then there’s a big issue there.”
Chester confirmed he had spoken to the club’s leadership group following the article being published.
“I spoke to the leadership group and they’re all really disappointed as much as I am with regards what’s come out.
“It’s a coward’s way out. If you’ve got such an issue with myself at least have the guts to front me or the CEO up. We know the results haven’t been great but these guys are busting a gut to turn things around and things haven’t worked or gone well for us.
“Ultimately, we’ve not been good enough and that’s not just the players, it’s me and my staff, collectively we haven’t been good enough and for something to come out so late, I was made aware early in the day that something was going to come out, but the fact it’s come from an unnamed source shows the person that we’re dealing with.”
