Hull FC v Salford Red Devils - ‘We are glorious at being inconsistent’ says Andy Last

Nevertheless, he is trying. They face Salford Red Devils today and, in all honesty, nobody knows which Hull side will turn up.

It has become a common issue, illustrated once more by Saturday’s feeble Challenge Cup quarter-final exit to Wigan Warriors.

Following that 36-4 humiliation, Last accused his players of being in “awe” of Wigan and lacking belief against the top sides.

If they are to rescue their campaign, and have any hope of making a push for the top-four, it has to be remedied immediately.

With that in mind, Last says he has spoken to players individually to try and get to the root of the problem. He conceded: “It’s difficult. What this group of players has shown over the last 18 months is that we are glorious at being inconsistent.

“When we play well we can mix it with the big boys and look a decent side. But when we’re poor, we’re really, really poor.

“I can remember a quote from (ex-head coach) Peter Gentle way back in 2012 about trying to bridge the gap between our best performance and our worst. That was the same with Lee (Radford) and it’s certainly the case with myself. What we need to try and do is get a level of consistency in our performance and not have it fluctuate from being good to terrible to great to average.

“We are making them aware of that. We speak about consistency on a daily basis. The message that we give the players is consistent.

“What they have to do is go out and deliver consistent performances. It is very, very difficult sometimes to tap into the six inches between a player’s ears.

“But I’ve got to a lot of them individually this week and tried to touch base on areas of their performance they need to improve – to tap into the emotional and mental side of it – and hope we get a response against Salford.”

Historically, given the “pressure” that can build in Hull when it comes to all things rugby league, Last has urged players to stay off social media.

He said: “They love the pats on the back when things are going well but the impact of the negativity it creates can really, really have a long-term effect. I’m not on it so that negativity and criticism doesn’t penetrate my bubble.

“I have high expectations of myself; I know certain aspects of the performance weren’t anywhere good enough so I don’t need anyone telling me that.

“On numerous occasions I’ve said why do you need an opinion from someone impacting on your mindset going into a game? Some listen, distance themselves from it. But a lot love those platforms.”

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James Mitchinson