IT’S fair to say Castleford Tigers have had a disappointing start to the 2023 Super League season.
With four losses in a row, the West Yorkshire side went into last week’s fixture against Leeds Rhinos desperate for a win under interim head coach Andy Last.
Former boss Lee Radford had left The Jungle after three defeats with new signing Gareth Widdop admitting that it wasn’t ‘ideal’ but he is enjoying time under Last.
“I suppose it’s not a good thing when a coach leaves a couple of games into the season,” Widdop said.
“I’ve been around the game long enough and been through it before. It’s out of our hands what the club decides to do regarding the coaching staff.
“It wasn’t ideal after two or three games and we just have to crack on as individuals.
“Lasty has stepped up and been really good so far. I’ve enjoyed been around him, I suppose the club will make a decision some time in the future.”
In terms of Castleford turning it around, Widdop has referenced “a kick up the a*se” at training from Last following a dismal 36-6 defeat to the Huddersfield Giants a fortnight ago.
“We were probably given a bit of a kick up the a*se at training as we were miles off at Huddersfield in just the basics.
“We put ourselves under a lot of pressure. I think the Huddersfield game was a wake up call that we were miles off in the effort areas especially.
“We reviewed it and knew we had a big game coming up against Leeds. The coaching staff stripped it right back to the basics of the game and we managed to do that against Leeds.”
In terms of moving forward, Widdop has not yet ruled out a charge to the play-offs with consistency now the key.
“It’s a very long season and there is still plenty of time ahead of us.
“It’s about been consistent. We showed what we could do against Leeds and if we play like that every week we will give ourselves a shot at the play-offs.”
