Castleford Tigers interim boss Andy Last rates job prospects after defeat at Salford Red Devils

Castleford took an early lead through Greg Eden but that was as good as it got for the visitors with tries from Brodie Croft and Shane Wright giving Salford a 14-6 victory.

The Tigers made unforced errors throughout a scrappy contest to leave Last with a record of two wins from six games since taking the reins from Lee Radford.

Last believes his hopes of landing the job permanently hang in the balance ahead of his formal interview on Friday.

"It depends which way you look at it," he said on his prospects in the wake of the defeat at the AJ Bell Stadium.

"Are they going to look at the fact we're playing with plenty of effort, desire and competing hard?

"I'm proud of the fact we're competing hard but that's a given for me. You should compete hard every time you play.

"People say 'the effort was there' but it should be there. You're professional rugby players and have a duty to pull on that shirt and give everything you've got.

"What I'm frustrated with is our execution being a little bit off.

"In regards to my prospects, they're 50/50."

Last remains in the dark over whether he will still be in interim charge for next Friday's home clash with Hull KR.

"I honestly don't know," he said.

"The club will make the decision when they feel as though it's right.

"It's going to be a disappointing chat tomorrow because the mood I'm in now, I'm not feeling enthused. That's the rollercoaster of the profession we're in.

"There have been some improvements defensively but we're not attacking with enough fluency or executing well enough."