Lee Radford looking to strengthen Castleford both on and off the pitch

Castleford head coach Lee Radford has told Love Rugby League that he wants to improve the club off the field as well as on it.

Taking charge ahead of this season, Radford has so far guided the Tigers into 6^th– spot in Super League. They have won seven of their 15 games.

This week, Alex Mellor joined permanently from Leeds while Kenny Edwards also committed his long-term future. Boss Radford has stressed how important work done away from the game itself is in strengthening on the whole.

“From a recruitment and youth side of things, the facilities are just massive for us. There’s so much development in terms of us as a club in what we’re going to do,” Radford told Love Rugby League.

“Facilities wise, I know it’s been spoken about now for 10/15 years, but the fact that we’re hopefully going to get the green light to get a spade in the ground and start working on a new stadium is only a positive thing.

“That’s one thing this club is lacking in, the facilities, so to get improvements in that area will be phenomenal for us.

“I think you definitely can be successful [without having top-end facilities], but whether you can then sustain it is another matter in my opinion.

“You can have a season like Leicester City did in the Premier League where you come from nowhere to get in and amongst it, but you have to have those foundations in place to help you as a club.

“That’s in every aspect as well, to clarify. In recruitment, you wouldn’t dream of bringing someone in now and trying to sell the place to them looking at the stadium because it’s just not that pretty on the eye unfortunately. One day, hopefully it will be.”

Eye on the Prize

Recruitment wise, Castleford are up there with the most talked about teams in Super League at the minute.

As per at this time of year, those out of contract come the end of the season are being touted around. Numerous of those players have been strongly linked with the Tigers, including Jack Broadbent and Gareth Widdop.

Having tied down Mellor and Edwards already, the boss added, “In terms of what we’re looking at moving forward on the pitch, it was more about the football we’ve been playing this season and how we want to play it heading into next season.

“The pair fit the profile of what we’re looking for. They’ve got some good leg speed, they’re athletic, and have good personalities with a good presence around the team.

“Alex has only been in for a few days, but he’s shown that his communication skills are really high. I think with the two of them, it was more about where they saw themselves fitting into my idea of what a Castleford Tigers team should look like.”

Radford’s side play host to Catalans tomorrow afternoon at the Jungle.

READ MORE: Alex Mellor – It’s nice to feel wanted again at Castleford

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