Friday 1 June 2018 13:01, UK
Jon Wells has sympathy for Denis Betts after being sacked as Widnes head coach - and believes his successor will face a monumental task at the Super League strugglers.
Betts left the club after a run of eight successive Super League defeats which has dropped Widnes to the bottom of the table.
The 48-year-old has been in charge of the Vikings since 2010 but Sky Sports analyst Wells thinks it will be a huge challenge for Betts' replacement to guide the team to safety in the top eight of the division.
Speaking on this week's Super League Golden Point podcast, Wells said: "I feel sympathy for Denis Betts actually. I think he's very much the coach in charge of a club that have had to cut their cloth accordingly.
"I would say they have the lowest budget in the Super League and he's turned to youth and developed some good young players.
"Moreover whoever comes in to replace him, by Chris Chester's [Wakefield coach] rationale of 16 points being the cut off for eighth place, has to register five wins in eight games. I think that's a monumental task for any coach coming in."
Francis Cummins has been placed in charge on an interim basis with his first game in charge at Catalans Dragons on Saturday, June 9.
Phil Clarke believes Cummins deserves an opportunity to lead Widnes and thinks he would be the right choice considering the club's limited resources.
Clarke said: "I would go with Francis Cummins. He's a young British coach who has spent several years attempting to become a proper coach and no doubt he's got skills.
"I think if we've got limited resources in this country, taking a gamble on bringing in someone from Australia or New Zealand, where you don't know whether it's going to work for them, seems unnecessary.
"There are young and old experienced people in Australia that could possibly contribute but I would stick with someone like Francis Cummins or a young British coach. I think that's where they're at."
