Castleford Tigers boss makes 'hate to be in their shoes' admission ahead of Salford Red Devils clash
Castleford Tigers are set to face most of Salford Red Devils’ big guns at the Jungle on Friday - which is welcome news for boss Danny McGuire.
Tigers are desperate for a win after four successive losses in the Betfred Challenge Cup and Super League, but McGuire insisted facing a second-string Salford team would be bad for the competition. Salford were placed back in special measures by the RFL, with a £1.2m salary cap limit, yesterday (Tuesday) after February’s wages went unpaid, despite the recent club takeover.
Under a similar restriction last month, their coach Paul Rowley sent a reserves side to St Helens for Super League round one, resulting in a competition record 82-0 defeat. Salford’s senior players are understood to have been considering striking until they are paid, putting Friday’s match in doubt, but most now look set to take to the field against Tigers.
Though Rowley has named only 17 players in his squad for the game, all were in the initial 20 for last Thursday’s 42-0 defeat at Hull KR and the likes of prolific points scorer Marc Sneyd and ex-England star Kallum Watkins are included. Speaking at his preview press conference today, before the Red Devils’ squad was revealed, McGuire insisted: “We are just preparing for Salford’s best.
“They have got some really good players and I don’t think anybody wants to see the game that happened first up against St Helens. I understood where they were at, the process Salford went through, but I don’t think anybody wants to see that again.
“The restriction of £1.2m means they can field a relatively strong team, still with some good players in there. Our salary cap probably wouldn’t be too much higher than that, so that seems more viable. I didn’t think [what happened against St Helens] was fair for the game, but our focus this week is about learning and working on some of the things we didn’t quite get right in the Leeds game last week, fixing them up and preparing to play on Friday.”
The Tigers coach added: “We are doing everything possible to make sure we are in a position to play well. All the other things are out of my control. We have had a really good training day today, we’ve prepared and practiced really well and we are just getting ready to play on Friday.”
Salford seemed to be out of the woods when the takeover was approved last month and McGuire admitted he has sympathy for Friday’s opponents. “I’d hate to be in their shoes, I feel for the players and coaches,” he said.
“I feel for the Salford fans as well, they are passionate and just want to support the team. Obviously behind the scenes it is a bit of a mess, so I get it. I wish them well, everybody wants to see a successful, well-run Salford team. I think they add to the competition, but we just have to be prepared and ready for whatever’s thrown at us.”