IT’S been a whirlwind of a 12 months for Craig Lingard.
This time last year, Lingard was preparing his Batley Bulldogs side to pull off an incredible upset in the Championship play-off semi-final against Featherstone Rovers.
By May, he was appointed as assistant coach of Castleford Tigers whilst helping Batley reach the 1895 Cup Final.
By August, the man that had brought him to The Jungle – Andy Last – had been sacked with the club appointing Danny Ward as the new head coach.
Alongisde Ward arriving at the West Yorkshire club, former halfback Dane Dorahy also made the move from Australia.
It’s no surprise, therefore, with three assistant coaches at The Jungle – Lingard, Dorahy and Scott Murrell – that uncertainty would reign supreme about the future of the trio.
However, Lingard himself has reaffirmed his future at Castleford, as the Batley boss aims to become part of the solution to the dismal 2023 season.
“I will be here, I’ve got two years on my deal at Castleford so that’s my plan. The club has spoken to me in the last week and asked if I’m happy to be here and I definitely am,” Lingard told League Express.
“Hopefully in the next couple of years I can be part of a rebuild, reset and refresh of the squad and the team in general.”
On a more lighter note, Lingard is well known for his lack of footwear at the side of the pitch and on the training field, something which Castleford fans have been accustomed to seeing down at The Jungle.
And though the 45-year-old has admitted he doesn’t know where the inspiration first came from, he plans to continue his new direction.
“I don’t know where it came from! I wish there was some sort of spiritual meaning to it but there isn’t! I just feel more comfortable not being in shoes. Over the last 12 months it has happened more because I’ve got to the point in my life where I don’t care what people think about me.
“I think people feel like they have to conform to a certain code or dress structure because that might impact where they go in life and the chances they might get. If that happens and I’m restricted on opportunities for not wearing shoes then so be it.”
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