WATCH: Why Hull FC boss Lee Radford feels he needs to gag dissenting Jake Connor

Hull FC's Jake Connor is collated by Castleford's Jake Trueman (PIC:JONATHAN GAWTHORPE)

Not for the first time this season, the centre was yellow carded last night for speaking out of turn to an official.

Castleford hat-trick hero Jake Trueman runs riot against Hull FC

Radford was clearly irritated by the 24-year-old’s latest indiscretion.

"I've maybe not told him enough about that," he said.

"It's really ugly, ugly to see.”

Asked what he can do to eradicate it from the player’s game, he replied: “Apart from tape his mouth up I don't know.”

Granted, the game had already long since been lost before that point but as Connor - who was easily wound up by Castleford's Jesse Sene-Lefao on a number of occasions during the fixture - left the field he even exchanged heated words with team-mate Mark Minichiello.

Radford said he did not see that incident but, regardless, the coach cut a dejected figure as he picked over the bones of a pitiful display.

His side were in second spot just a few weeks ago but, after four defeats in five games since losing a Challenge Cup semi-final, they are now relying on other results to even have a hope of making the play-offs.

A win would have secured that place last night but they were vanquished 44-12 following an awful display.

Hull were 20-0 down inside just 22 minutes following an abysmal start to the game.

“Everything we said we didn’t want to do we went out there and did it unfortunately,” said Radford, whose side are now replaced in the fifth and final spot by Castleford.

“The building blocks we didn’t put in for that first 10, 15 minutes was suicide. “We just couldn’t come back from that.”

Trailing 20-6 at the break, Hull could have rescued themselves with a decent start to the second period but immediately gifted Jake Trueman his hat-trick after a farcical pass from Jack Logan on his own 20m line.

“We’ve done some things with the football tonight that I’ve not recognised,” said Radford.

“We’ve saved some of the strangest decisions for the biggest of stages unfortunately.”

Hull now need to beat St Helens on Friday and hope Castleford lose at Wigan but Radford insisted: “We’ve had three shots to get in the play-offs.

“If as a group you don’t adapt and change things you’re always going to get the same outcome.”