CRAIG LINGARD has cited the removal of traditional promotion and relegation as the reason why Castleford Tigers do not need to panic if things don’t go fully to plan in Super League 2024.
The Tigers have yet to win a game in the league this season, though they did beat Batley Bulldogs in the Challenge Cup last weekend.
That being said, with the onset of IMG’s plans, Castleford have focused more on pertinent off-field issues knowing they cannot be relegated purely based on on-field success in 2024.
That means that head coach Craig Lingard does not have to make any rash transfer or loan decisions throughout the year.
“This season is different than any other season. We know there is no relegation based on the on-field stuff so there is no need for us to panic at any point,” Lingard said.
“We don’t need to go out and spend loads of money to avoid relegation and that it won’t get to the point where we haven’t won as many games as we thought we would have done.
“We need to make sure we are judged on the progress we are making. Our players, 70 per cent of them aren’t established Super League players and they won’t establish themselves overnight.”
Lingard went further, insisting that his current group of players cannot be judged already.
“It’s probably a longer-term project than the one you are thinking. We can’t judge these guys by Easter. We are, certainly as a group of players, staff and directors, looking to make progress game on game.
“What you might deem as progress might be different from us. We have got to make sure we don’t start panicking if we don’t start seeing immediate progress and winning games week in week out. We don’t need to press the panic button.
“It’s a long drawn out project that hasn’t been done in the past. The last success Castleford had was a number of years ago so we need to change things done at the club.
“Whether you agree with IMG and promotion and relegation or not, we are in a situation where we have been given the chance to develop players this year so we can integrate more quality players next year and the year after.”
Click here to purchase a digital edition of League Express.
Click here to purchase an online edition of League Express through pocketmags.com.
Click here to listen to our new League Express Podcast.
League Express is widely available from local newsagents across the north of England.
