Next Castleford Tigers head coach: Craig Lingard keen but expects club to look elsewhere

The Tigers have been looking for a new head coach since parting company with Last in the wake of a fifth defeat in a row.

Friday's 28-0 drubbing by Huddersfield Giants leaves Castleford level on points with Wakefield Trinity at the bottom of Super League ahead of next week's relegation four-pointer at Belle Vue.

Lingard does not expect to be in charge for the trip to Wakefield but will remain on the coaching staff for the rest of 2023 come what may.

"I've always said I want to be a head coach at Super League level so I'd definitely accept the role if it was offered," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"I'm not expecting it to be offered because there are no conversations there.

"I think the club are looking at something outside of what's already at the club to try give a little bit of a spark until the end of the season to try get a bit of a response."

Lingard was brought in as an assistant by Last in May, a role he is combining with his head coach commitments at Batley Bulldogs until the end of the year.

Last paid the price for Castleford's wretched form – which read 15 defeats from his 19 games in charge – but the results were not a reflection of his commitment to the cause, according to Lingard.

"If league tables were done on work ethic, work rate, dedication, emotion and everything you put into doing the job correctly, we'd have been top of the league," he added.

"Unfortunately, it's not transferred over into performances and ultimately that's what you're judged on.

"For whatever reason it's not quite worked out but it's certainly not been through a lack of knowledge, effort, commitment or desire.

"I'll always be grateful to Andy for giving me that opportunity to come into a full-time environment at Castleford because I'd never met him before.

"You always feel like you've let someone down when it doesn't quite work out so on a personal level it's been a disappointment that we've not given Andy the rewards his efforts deserved."

Lingard joined the Tigers on a two-and-a-half-year deal but is in limbo as his time at Batley comes to an end.

Should he be left without a job at the end of the season, there will be no regrets.

"That's professional sport and the gamble you take," said Lingard, whose Bulldogs face Halifax Panthers in the 1895 Cup final at Wembley on Saturday. "If somebody loses their job, your job might go as well.

"We had a meeting on Saturday, the day after Andy lost his job, and got an update from the board. They said whoever comes in would work with the current backroom staff. Up until the end of the season, I know I'll be at least the assistant coach there.

"After that it depends on how long the appointment is of the person coming in. If it's just an appointment until the end of the season, we'll review it at the end of the season but if it's a longer-term appointment, that person might want to bring their own staff in next year.

"If that's the case, that's professional sport and people want to work with who they're comfortable working with."