Wakefield head coach Mark Applegarth accepted accountability for his facet’s relegation from the Betfred Super League after their dramatic 20-19 golden level defeat at Leigh.
Applegarth mentioned he was “hurt” by his facet’s failure to increase their unlikely survival battle into the ultimate week of the season however mentioned they might withstand the prospect of Championship rugby subsequent yr.
He mentioned: “I’m hurt, it stings, and as head coach the responsibility is on my shoulders.
“It sunk in as soon as I saw that drop goal go over. All I can do is apologise to our fans but I can tell them that we will be back.
“I’d like to think most of the fans can’t question any of the lads’ efforts. Skill, execution and composure is probably what has let us down, but definitely not effort.”
Wakefield’s survival bid seemed bleak after Tom Briscoe opened the scoring for Leigh with simply 4 minutes on the clock however two opportunist tries from Lee Kershaw early within the second half pulled them again on stage phrases.
Gareth O’Brien’s late drop purpose seemed to have gained it for Leigh earlier than Luke Gale kicked Wakefield into the additional interval with simply 19 seconds left on the clock – just for O’Brien to transform the decisive effort of a frantic additional interval.
Applegarth was left to mirror on a season during which a stirring restoration couldn’t disguise the truth that 14 straight defeats at the beginning of the season proved an excessive amount of to beat.
“Ultimately the league table doesn’t lie and we weren’t good enough,” added Applegarth.
“We’ve got some tough decisions to make and we’ve got some improvements to make. We’ve got to be honest with each other and look at why this has happened.
“My job is to make sure we bounce straight back up. They (Leigh) flirted with it over the last few years and they’ve nailed it, so there’s a blueprint to follow right there.
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial
Sign up
Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial
Sign up
“Mark my words, we will be back in Super League, and hopefully at the first time of asking.”
Leigh head coach Adrian Lam admitted his facet have been removed from their greatest however praised their accomplishment at sealing a prime six place with one week of the common season nonetheless to go.
“I think we just looked a bit less tired after last week,” admitted Lam.
“There was a lot of stop-start to the game that kept them in it, and they got two tries against the run of play from dropped balls, so I was a bit nervous towards the end.
“But we just find a way to win this year in those situations, which has been so impressive with this bunch of boys and so many players out.
“I think some other clubs may have rolled over tonight but they just got bigger and stronger as the game went on.
“We’ve now got to try to build some confidence and belief off the back of that, and make sure we take it on.”
