'A little bit of regret': Andy Last breaks silence on Castleford Tigers sacking

The 42-year-old was sacked by the Tigers in August after winning just four of his 19 games in charge following his promotion from his role as assistant coach.

"There are some good people at Castleford and the fans are very, very passionate," Last told The Yorkshire Post.

"They want Castleford to do well and be able to come away from the ground knowing their team have given their best. That wasn't always the case last season and I apologise to the fans about that.

"As a head coach, you have to cop the responsibility for that. I wasn't able to deliver what I wanted to and the team didn't deliver what we needed it to. I suffered the consequences of it and am man enough to accept that."

Last was an unpopular choice to replace Lee Radford and failed to win over the fans as Castleford slid towards the Championship.

After seeing the Tigers stay up under Danny Ward by virtue of two wins in the final six games, Last has shared his disappointment about the backing he received during his time at the helm.

"I just didn't feel as though my appointment was embraced with much enthusiasm," said Last, who is currently on England duty as Shaun Wane's assistant.

"On the terraces I felt as though I was behind the eight ball straight away and didn't feel like I got full support from a club point of view.

"Change was going to take time because of the amount of players that were coming to the end of their careers and their best years were behind them. We just needed to get through the season with a view to really attacking 2024 with a young team that have got their best years in front of them and are full of ambition and desire.

"The harsh reality of head coaching is you get judged on one thing and one thing only: results. Regardless of the work I did behind the scenes in recruitment and trying to change aspects of the club from a professionalism and cultural point of view, if it doesn't manifest itself in wins on a weekend, it's irrelevant – it's all about winning.

"That has been a massive lesson for me. I just didn't win enough."

Last was charged with bringing the feel-good factor back to Wheldon Road in his first head coach role after taking over from Radford in March.

The Tigers struggled to live up to the Classy Cas tag, something Last puts down to the players at his disposal.

"Castleford are very, very keen on playing a certain style of play in terms of being expansive," he added.

"It's difficult to play that expansive style if you haven't got the personnel to play that way.

"Unfortunately the team that we had, we had to find different ways to get results because we weren't able to play the Castleford style which is flamboyant, attacking, free-flowing rugby. We just didn't have the personnel."

Last was in the process of assembling a squad capable of carrying out the club's directive when he was sacked.

The former Hull FC coach is hoping permanent successor Craig Lingard reaps the benefits of his work behind the scenes.

"I was looking to recruit players who could fit that in terms of athleticism, age profile and skillset," said Last, who took Lingard to Wheldon Road as an assistant in May.

"Craig is obviously going to inherit that and I wish him the best of luck because I really hope it works for him. He's a good fella and was good for me.

"There's an opportunity for Craig now to showcase what he can do as a coach. He's obviously someone I brought in and knows the challenges that he's going to face."

Last will link up with Catalans Dragons as Steve McNamara's right-hand man following his international commitments.

He has no regrets about taking the top job at Castleford and hopes to one day get the chance to right some wrongs.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing," said Last. "It's one of those where if I didn't give it a go and take the opportunity, a lot of people out there would have been questioning my ambition and desire.

"I look back on my time there with a little bit of regret because I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve and didn't feel I got the time to try and turn it around. What I do know is I couldn't have given any more.

"The club had to make a tough decision and the decision they made was proven right because they managed to stay in Super League. I'll cop that on the chin and accept that.

"Whilst I look back at my time there with a little bit of regret and disappointment, I learnt a hell of a lot about myself and being a head coach.

"I'm excited about possibly challenging for a head coach's position in the future but that's down the track.

"I'm currently assistant coach of England and will give that my all and then really, really help Steve try take Catalans to the next level, which is not only getting to the big games but going that little bit further and winning them."