Castleford Tigers boss reveals ingredient for Super League revival ahead of Wigan Warriors opener

Tigers’ squad has been overhauled since they finished second from bottom in Betfred Super League last year. An incredible 19 players have moved on with 12 coming in - seven of whom could feature in Saturday’s round one fixture at home to champions Wigan Warriors.

Lingard, who was an assistant at Tigers last year as well as coach of Batley Bulldogs, admits Castleford aren’t in a position to attract players with multiple Grand Final appearances or Test caps,but insists the ones they have brought in are hungry to show what they can do.

“We wanted people who were younger, who could train harder for longer and we could get more out of,” Lingard said of Tigers’ off-season recruitment. “Where we are as a club, we can’t go out and sign people who want to be at a top-four club, because that’s not where we are.

“We had to be realistic with the people we could attract and the finances we’ve got, or not got. We have got to look out there and try and sign the best players for Castleford and the players I think I can get the best out of. They are hungry; a lot of them aren’t necessarily established first-choice Super League players so it is a great opportunity for them to nail down a starting shirt and a permanent home as well.”

After their battle against relegation in 2023, the bookies and most pundits expect Tigers to struggle again this season. Lingard admitted “to the outside world that might take some of the pressure off, because nobody is expecting us to do anything”, but he stressed: “Internally, we are putting pressure on ourselves because we want to be better. Anyone who was in that environment last year knows what a difficult place it was to be and how difficult it was to turn up day in and day out, knowing it wasn’t particularly great. You were playing on the weekend and losing, sometimes very badly and it’s not a nice place to be. We don’t want to feel like that again or the environment to be like that again. For us internally, we are putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to not replicate last season.”

Having been at the club last year, Lingard knows what went wrong. He reflected: “As difficult as last season was, maybe the club needed it to clear the decks and start again. A lot of players have left and a lot come in. The players who were here last year and have been here a while say it feels like a fresh environment and a real positive change that maybe they needed. Some of them have said it felt a bit uncomfortable coming back in pete-season because a lot of their mates weren’t there, so they have had to build new connections and new relationships and it has freshened them up as well.”

On a personal note, his first game as a Super League head coach, which is being televised live on BBC 2, will be a big moment for Lingard. He reflected: “It is the opportunity I have been waiting for. I think it came around a lot sooner than I was expecting, but you might never get the opportunity again so you’ve got to take it and try and do the best you can. Hopefully the group we’ve got this year - a young, hungry group - can build and progress for the next few years.”

Castleford Tigers: from Hooley, Simm, Broadbent, Wood, Senior, Richardson, Miller, Watts, Lawler, El-Zakhem, Westerman, Horne, Putt, Hall, Mustapha, Tasipale, Qareqare, Robb, Martin, Kibula, Vete.

Wigan Warriors: from field, Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall, French, Smith, O’Neill, Byrne, Isa, Farrell, Ellis, Cooper, Mago, Thompson, Leeming, Dupree, Hill Hampshire, Eckersley, Forber.

Referee: Tom Grant (Leeds). Kick-off: Saturday, 5.30pm.