FORMER Wakefield Trinity head coach Mark Applegarth has revealed he could permanently leave the world of rugby league following his exit from the relegated Super League club.
Applegarth took on the Wakefield job ahead of the 2023 Super League season in what was his first professional coaching role.
However, with just four wins from 27 games, Trinity were relegated with the 39-year-old losing his job following a takeover of the club from DIY Kitchens owner Matt Ellis.
Since then, Applegarth took time off before properly looking for a new role at the start of December – that being said, he isn’t rushing into anything as things stand.
“I’m good, it’s been good to recharge and get a bit of downtime. It was a good life experience at the same time,” Applegarth told League Express.
“I’ve just been doing some casual work. I’ve been going into a few businesses and doing some talks on team work and different parts of that.
“I started properly looking a the start of this month. Up until the start of December I have just been enjoying having some down time with the family.
“I’ve spoken to a few people about job offers but it’s about making sure it’s right for me and my family and whoever I am working for.
“I don’t want to rush into something, it’s a big move whatever I do so I want to make sure I’m happy with the choice I make.”
Applegarth also revealed that a potential new job may not come in rugby league as he explained the difficulty of working within the sport as things stand.
“I don’t know (if it will be in rugby league), I’m pretty open minded to opportunities outside the sport. The problem with rugby league at the moment is there are a lot of clubs in a dilemma with all the changes and things like that.
“There are only about seven or eight club showing that ambition to push the boundaries and take the sport forward. Obviously when you come out of a job as I have done, your stock probably isn’t the highest and you’ve got to weigh up the opportunities on what’s right for me and my family in moving forwards in my career.
“I like coaching, I like working with people that have shared objectives, working towards a cause. So who know what is round the corner? No one knows do they?”
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