Featherstone Rovers star promises fans ‘best version of ourselves’ after surprise Sean Long sacking

Featherstone Rovers plan to ‘put on a show’ for the rest of the season under new boss James Ford with players admitting surprise at Sean Long’s sacking.

That’s the rallying cry from one of the Championship leaders’ most experienced players Johnathon Ford, who has reassured fans that the squad’s response to a ‘challenging’ couple of weeks has been strong.

“It was challenging don’t get me wrong,” said the Cook Islands international of Long’s departure, with the club eight points clear of rivals Toulouse at the top of the table.

“Some people didn’t see it coming and it was unexpected. But the best thing I’ve seen is how the boys have reacted.

“We didn’t know what was going on but we reacted well which highlights that we have a special bunch of blokes who can keep moving forward.”

‘Control our controllables’ – Johnathon Ford on Featherstone Rovers’ push for promotion

Rovers are going all out for promotion this season before IMG effectively pull up the drawbridge next year with new rules that make it increasingly difficult for those outside Super League to break in.

They head to third-placed Sheffield this weekend looking for an immediate improvement from the defeat at Halifax that cost Long his job.

“We have had a good week of training on the back of some challenging news,” Ford added.

“We are all in a challenging situation but all we can do is control our controllables and we are still trying to tick those boxes to do the best we can.

“The decision was made and now we have to fully get on with it, back ourselves and stick together through this transition and I think we are doing really well with that.

“So I would say to the fans – stick with us, we are doing the same and coming together as a group.

“We are going to put the best version of ourselves forward now and hopefully put on a show.”

READ NEXT: Castleford Tigers hooker Jacques O’Neill makes Championship loan move