Castleford Tigers boss Danny McGuire reinforces need for patience after latest loss at Leeds Rhinos

The Tigers have fallen on hard times since Daryl Powell's departure in 2021 and there has been little sign of improvement in the early stages of the new Super League season.

McGuire, who took over from Craig Lingard at the end of last year, endured a painful first return to Headingley as a head coach as the Tigers slumped to a fourth straight defeat.

The 42-year-old shares the supporters' frustrations but recognises that Castleford are at the start of a long journey.

"It's always today, isn't it?" said McGuire following the 38-24 defeat by Leeds.

"People expect it today and I get that because I'm impatient, too. I want it today, I want it now – but we're not quite there.

"I want my players to fight, battle and be scrapping away. We showed that but have a period of 30-40 minutes where some of the things we do just aren't good enough. That hurts you.

"We need to learn from that and be better the next time we get an opportunity, which is on Friday."

McGuire will continue his search for his first win as Castleford head coach against the beleaguered Salford Red Devils at Wheldon Road.

The former Great Britain half-back accepts that his side must start to produce results to give the fans something to cling to.

"When things aren't quite going for you, you've just to keep believing, keep working hard and doing the things that have got you where you are," said McGuire.

"We know it was never going to happen overnight so there has to be an element of patience there but I get that we need to see a little bit more. That's what we need to bring on Friday."

Castleford were staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat before scoring three late tries to make the scoreline more respectable.

"I'm proud that they were still fighting away but when you're 30 points up like Leeds were, you do tend to take your foot off the gas," added McGuire.

"We probably lack a little bit of toughness to be able to push through tough moments.

"We'll get there over time but at the moment we can't quite handle it. Good teams take advantage of that."

Leeds defied the absence of first-choice half-backs Brodie Croft and Matt Frawley to lead 38-6 with 10 minutes remaining.

Rhinos boss Brad Arthur admitted the finish took the shine off a second Super League win of the year.

"I'm really happy with the first 60 minutes but we need to be an 80-minute team," said Arthur.

"We need to respect both ourselves and the opposition more – and we didn't do that in the last 20 minutes.

"As soon as I walked into the sheds, it wasn't the sheds of a team that had just won a game of footy. That pleased me.

"At the end of the day, it is tough to win games and we have to enjoy the win. We've sung the song and had a beer – it's just a good lesson for us."