In a somewhat surprising development, the Castleford Tigers announced today that they had parted company with head coach Craig Lingard.
In his first season as a Super League head coach, Lingard led an unfancied Tigers to a 10th-placed finish, comfortably above both Hull FC and London in 11th and 12th, and as such this news will come as somewhat of a shock.
However, it seems that the new owner at Castleford wanted to go in a different direction for the upcoming season, telling the Tigers’ website: “I would like to thank Craig for all his hard work over the past year as Head Coach and in his previous role as Assistant Head Coach. I would like to wish Craig the very best of luck for the future. This wasn’t an easy decision. Craig is a really decent guy and is well liked by our fans but I felt it was time for a different direction and a new voice in the dressing room. The players are due back in a few weeks and I wanted to give a new coach the opportunity to shape pre-season and create a winning culture of his own.”
Despite his dismissal, it is undeniable that Lingard is a talented coach, and we would imagine he won’t be out of the sport for very long, as he’s likely to be on the top of many clubs’ shortlists should they decide, like Castleford, to change direction in the future.
We will bring any further updates on this story to you as soon as they’re available.
Written by Nathan Major-Kershaw (site editor & Hull KR fan)
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