Josh Griffin says that Hull FC’s players have to be accountable for Lee Radford’s recent sacking at the KCOM Stadium.
The Black and Whites squad are still coming to terms with the dismissal of their long-term head coach, who was dismissed minutes after the club’s defeat to Warrington.
Griffin has a special relationship with Radford, who signed him to the club in 2017 and played a key role in his recent England call-up.
And Griffin admits that Radford’s sacking has hit him hard.
“I hold Radders in high regard and he’s a legend of a bloke, but I also understand it’s a result-based sport,” Griffin told League Express.
“We have let him down; he’s stuck by us for a number of years and we’ve got to say we’re as accountable, we’re the ones on the field playing as poorly as we are. In that respect, it’s a hard pill to swallow.
“I can’t hold him in any higher regard, he put a lot of work in me and kept faith when others may have shipped me off when my form wasn’t great. I think most of the fans probably wanted to get rid of me.
“I struggled for a bit, I wasn’t enjoying it and wasn’t used to the pressure of playing for Hull FC. I had some groin problems and the long travel, travelling from Fax to Hull, but I stuck with it. Radders stuck with me and backed my corner.”
The Rugby League shutdown will give the club chance to come to terms with Radford’s exit, as well as attempt to rectify on-field issues that have consistently reared their heads throughout the season.
“If every club goes alright financially and we’re safe it could be a blessing in disguise for us, in that we can get some bodies back and get to the bottom of what is going wrong,” explained Griffin.
“I wish I could put my finger on it and I’m sure the whole team feels the same way. Injuries haven’t helped, and players being out of form hasn’t been ideal. But we need to address it quickly. We keep collapsing in the second half of too many games.”
Meanwhile, the pandemic brought additional stress for Griffin, with his partner in Florida at the start of the week when travel bans started to come into place.
“It’s been the longest week ever,” he admitted.
“We went from being pumped by Warrington to Radders losing his job, then my partner has been on holiday in Florida, so there was a lot of stress and a lot of time on the phone with Virgin. I think she got the last flight out of America.”