FORMER Super League and Championship boss John Kear recently hung up his coaching clipboard for good following an illustrious career.
With a CV that spans the likes of Sheffield Eagles, Wakefield Trinity, Hull FC and Batley Bulldogs, Kear is well-known for being a brilliant motivator.
The 70-year-old won the Challenge Cup with Sheffield and Hull before somehow keeping Wakefield in Super League in 2006 with four wins from their final six games.
But, it was his dismissal from Hull, just seven games into the 2006 Super League that “really hurt” Kear, especially after lifting the Challenge Cup the previous year.
“That’s the one that really hurt me to tell you the truth,” Kear told the League Express podcast.
“I felt we were building a bit of a dynasty. We had Danny Brough, Paul Cooke, Richard Horne and Paul King.
“There were some difficult characters to handle but there were some very talented players and I felt we were going to mature into a really good team.
“We had a difficult start to the season and I told the board if we are round about at Easter that we wouldn’t be far off Old Trafford.
“That’s what happened when Peter Sharp came in and took them to Old Trafford. But we had won three out of seven and I still can’t believe they would sack a coach who had won three out of seven.
“The board had said that they wanted more consistency in displays. I don’t know if that meant they wanted to win every game but if every coach had been sacked after winning three wins in seven games then there would be a lot of coaches sacked!”
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