Craig Lingard is optimistic about a brighter season for Sheffield Eagles after a challenging start to the post-Mark Aston era.

The former Castleford Tigers boss took the reins ahead of the 2025 campaign but struggled with a fractured squad, resulting in an 11th-place finish.

But there is fresh hope heading into the new-look Championship after a positive off-season.

"I've got my team now," said Lingard, who has signed the likes of Kai Morgan, Jordan Lilley and George Griffin.

"We needed that overhaul of players. When you go into a club and are coaching somebody else's players, it's very, very difficult because they've been recruited for their style. You've got to get them to buy into your vision of how you want to play.

"Mark was at the club for a long time and was a massive part of it. The club wouldn't exist if it weren't for him.

"That's what made it difficult last year. I came in as an outsider and there was a lot of emotion involved. It's a bit like going into Manchester United after Alex Ferguson or Arsenal after Arsène Wenger.

"You don't want to use that as an excuse but you can't hide from the fact that it played a massive role in our season."

Craig Lingard expects Sheffield to come again after a difficult season. (Photo: Ed Sykes/SWpix.com)

placeholder image — Craig Lingard expects Sheffield to come again after a difficult season. (Photo: Ed Sykes/SWpix.com)

Sheffield will look to begin 2026 on the right note in Sunday's opener at Whitehaven, one of four League One teams they face following the merger of the competitions.

The other eight sides they meet twice featured in last year's Championship, including London Broncos, Oldham, Halifax Panthers and Widnes Vikings.

While the first objective is to qualify for the 10-team play-offs, Lingard believes the Eagles can soar even higher.

"It's going to be a strong division," he said. "But we've got to be aiming for the play-offs – and looking to be better than 10th.

Sheffield take on Whitehaven in round one. (Photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

"For me as a coach and the squad we've put together, I'd be disappointed if we weren't up there in the top six.

"We've got a tough set of fixtures but that means you're testing yourselves against the best. Hopefully we make the play-offs and should go in battle-hardened."

On the new 20-team format, Lingard added: "I'm not a massive fan of it.

"I'm an old school traditionalist who believes the league format should be decided based on playing the same teams the same amount of times.

"Whichever format you choose, you're never going to please everybody – but there are seven teams we're not going to play this season."