CHRIS CHESTER admitted Castleford Tigers are not resilient or fit enough after watching the team fall to a 44-0 defeat against Hull KR without head coach Ryan Carr.
The Tigers only trailed 10-0 at half-time, but boos rang out at the final whistle while chants in support of Carr – reportedly suspended pending a club investigation, although the Tigers have not confirmed that to be the case – also filled the terraces throughout the 80 minutes.
After the game, director of rugby Chester spoke to the press, saying: “I thought they did well in the first 40 minutes and we were unlucky not to get a try just before half-time.
“I was really disappointed with the second half and that’s been us for the last 20-odd weeks.
“We’ve shown in parts we can play some good rugby but with just some adversity we seem to crumble.
“It’s been a tough week for the guys. I know they are trying.
“Are we resilient? The last 40 minutes says we’re not. Are we fit enough? Probably not.”
Chester also spoke on that tough week, with Carr not believed to have been involved with the team since Tuesday.
“It’s been difficult for everybody when you’re missing the head coach. It’s one of those things where you’ve got to follow a process,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk too much about that, I want to talk about the players.
“I don’t know about a timeline. I’ve just got ensure the guys are ready next Friday night.”
Chester did admit: “It was a tough atmosphere tonight. It was tough on the players and it’s tough on the fans as well and I know how disappointed they are.
“We’ve got to take a lot of responsibility for what we’ve done. It doesn’t help that there was one guy who got booed on his first carry – we don’t want to hear that.
“I was disappointed with that and they were voicing their opinions.
“I just think once we get some clarity, we can all come together. The fans pay their hard-earned money each week and are entitled to their opinions but we are also entitled to ours.”