Hull FC boss Tony Smith urges fans to keep faith after derby hammering by Hull KR
Tony Smith has urged Hull FC supporters to keep the faith after a 40-0 hammering to rivals Hull KR made it six defeats in a row in Super League.
The Black and Whites went into the Good Friday derby in wretched form and it went to script as the confident Robins eased to a record derby victory.
Hull find themselves second bottom after eight rounds but Smith remains convinced that they will come through the other side a better team.
"Disappointment is the major one," said the Hull boss, who was in charge of the Robins when they won the Easter derby in 2022.
"I'm sure everybody who is black and white is disappointed, downhearted and downbeat after a performance like that, particularly the second half.
"We weren't good enough. We need to remember this hurt and rectify it.
"We keep apologising at the moment for our performances and there's not much else we can do.
"Hopefully we repay them one day for their faith – and hopefully that is sooner rather than later.
"It's difficult to say anything else. We want to make them proud again and hopefully we can do that.
"Seasons can have all sorts of twists and turns. I've seen plenty of them and will see plenty of them again. We need to be one of those twists and turns."
Evergreen winger Ryan Hall scored a hat-trick in a seven-try rout for the Robins, a team on the up under Smith's replacement Willie Peters.
The Rovers boss hailed the influence of half-back pairing Mikey Lewis and Jordan Abdull.
"It was Mikey's best game for sure," said Peters. "There's nobody more passionate than Mikey.
"Jordan's game is building nicely. He had a strong pre-season which he's taken into these opening rounds.
"Both of them have plenty of growth to do, which is the most pleasing thing. They are still building their combinations.
"When we opened up, we looked better with the ball. The way we attacked looked very good.
"I was more pleased with the defence. What I loved most was the zero at the end of the game."