New Wakefield coach Brian Smith will inherit an 'under-performing' squad, says Stuart Dickens
Last Updated: 01/06/15 12:36pm
Wakefield caretaker boss Stuart Dickens thinks veteran Australian coach Brian Smith could be just the hire the club needs.
Just before they were handed a 56-16 Magic Weekend thrashing by Castleford, the Wildcats made the surprise announcement that the older brother of Warrington boss Tony Smith was to become their new coach.
The 61-year-old Smith will be in charge until the end of the season and takes over a bottom-placed side with a mere four points to their names, who will almost certainly have to see off Championship opposition when the league splits if they are to stay up.
After the Castleford loss, Dickens said: “I think Brian is a great appointment for the club.
"He's very high quality and he has bags of experience. He's known for being a taskmaster and the players are going to have to accept some criticism and have some broad shoulders at times."
Asked what Smith is inheriting, Dickens said: “A bunch of under-performing players.
“We have players who have played in finals and have hundreds of appearances but, at this moment in time, they're playing nowhere near their ability and Brian's first thing will be to get a response out of them.
"Our second half today was not acceptable for the Super League. We weren't good enough today and there are only the players that can get us out of this.”
Castleford coach Daryl Powell was happy with the way his side pulled clear in the second half.
"I'm really pleased with the final result,” he said. “Our second half was excellent after a scratchy start and for large parts we were well on top.
"It's a pretty tight table and there's no point looking at it at the moment. It's just about being consistent and trying to achieve the targets we set. We just need to keep improving."