“50/50” – Andy Last preparing for Castleford interview fresh from Salford defeat

Andy Last has rated his prospects of landing the permanent job at Castleford “50/50” with a formal interview set to take place on Friday. 

The Tigers fell to a 14-6 defeat to Salford on Thursday at the AJ Bell Stadium, giving Last a 33% win rate heading into the meeting. 

The side have showed glimpses of improvements in recent weeks, coming close against Catalans with a scoreline of 22-18 before defeating Wakefield at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for a crucial victory.

But attack remains an ongoing issue, with the second lowest record for points scored in the Super League competition in 2023.

Castleford were full of errors during their Round Nine defeat to the Red Devils, leaving a tough interview ahead for Last with those above at the club.

Andy Last: It’s going to be a disappointing chat tomorrow because the mood I’m in now

“Depends which way you look at it,” Last said on the prospects of his interview.

“Are they going to look at the fact that we’re playing with plenty of effort and some desire and competing hard?

“I’m proud of the fact that we’re competing hard, but for me that’s a given. You should compete every time you play. 

“Sometimes I feel as though like the effort was there, but it should be there. They’re professional rugby players

“You’ve got a duty to pull on that shirt and give everything that you’ve got. What’s frustrating is just how our execution has been a little bit off.

“We spent a fair bit of time on the training field putting some things in place.

“It’s been a tough period because of short turnarounds and stuff, we’ve only had one training session leading into this Salford game and that was Monday.

“You can’t do a great deal because it’s that time of the year where games come thick and fast.

“We’ve had a fair bit of travel with the Catalans game et cetera, it’s frustrating. 

“It’s going to be a disappointing chat tomorrow because the mood I’m in now.

“I’m not feeling enthused. That’s the rollercoaster of the profession we’re in.

“In regards to my prospects, it’s 50/50.”

“We’re the masters of our own downfall”

The interim boss believes Castleford are their own worst enemy at times, with a record of two wins in nine in 2023.

The Tigers started Thursday’s fixture positively, crossing first through Greg Eden inside three minutes for a 6-0 lead.

They only conceded with minutes to go until the break as Brodie Croft raced away to score under the sticks.

And a further try from Sam Stone, as well as three conversions from Marc Sneyd, sealed the victory for Paul Rowley’s Red Devils.

“We’re the masters of our own downfall,” Last said.

“We spoke at half-time about not making type one errors and that’s something that we’ve brought in, type one errors are unforced, and you just can’t afford them.

“And then the second set of the second half, Niall drops a ball with no pressure on him, it puts us under pressure.

“We dodge a bullet, we get the ball back and we have a loose pass from dummy-half which almost results in Salford scoring.

“I can’t fault the lads’ effort. I thought the effort was sensational.

“We’re taking some really positive steps in terms of defence. We’re defending our try-line very well, but we’re just doing far too much of it.

“Unforced errors coming out of yardage, there was a period in that first half where we completed one out of six. And it always finds a way to come back and bite you.

“How many more times and ways can we say we can’t afford to make those type of mistakes.

“Unfortunately, we’re making too many of those with the ball and it’s robbing us with the energy to attack with any fluency and confidence.”

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