Smith: You’ve got to develop a thick skin...

TONY Smith has backed Daryl Powell to ride out the storm amid growing pressure over Castleford Tigers’ form.

Powell’s side have lost eight of their nine games, a run which has dropped them from second to ninth in the Super League table.

Castleford have been impacted heavily by positive coronavirus cases, with Powell running out of bodies for a recent game against Leeds.

The Tigers were hammered by Hull FC in their last outing and have had only four days to prepare for tonight’s clash with Hull KR.

But Smith expects Super League’s longest-serving coach to turn things around in the long run.

“That’s part and parcel of the job,” said Smith. “If you cop flak you’ve got to develop thick skin.

I’m sure Daryl has got thick enough skin to handle it.

“It’s easy sometimes to sit on the sidelines and tell people what you’d do if you were in the job. That’s what we all like to do.

“I watch other sports and pretend I’m the coach or think I know better than the coach, even though I don’t know all the information the coach has to his hand. That’s just how it is.

“I suppose in this day and age if people read social media, it can hurt. Fortunately I don’t have it so you can say what you want about me. Daryl will be fine, I’m sure. He’s done a great job at Cas for a number of years and hopefully will continue to do so for some time to come.”

KR will, of course, be out to extend Castleford’s miserable record when the sides meet at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

Rovers ended their losing run against Salford and Smith is hoping to see his team build on that narrow win, although he knows it will not be easy.

“We’re wary of them,” he said. “Any team that has a disappointing outing looks to bounce back. They’ll have their own motivation. We’ve just got to focus on ourselves. We found a way to get across the line last week. I thought we played some OK footy and at times felt a little bit aggrieved to be so close.

“It reminds us how good you’ve got to be for long periods of the game. If you have a lapse you can get hurt. Yes their form isn’t great but it’s the old cliche that form is only temporary. All you need sometimes is to get on the front foot and get a bit of confidence and you’re back in.”