Wakefield boss Mark Applegarth was surprised assistant coach James Ford quit - but is now looking forward to seeing his squad play with more freedom.
Ford departed Super League’s bottom club earlier this week to become director of rugby at Championship leaders Featherstone. He left his role as York head coach at the end of last season to work as Applegarth’s No2, primarily in charge of Trinity’s attack. They have failed to win a game all season heading into Friday night’s Challenge Cup tie against Leigh and scored just 77 points in 12 games.
Asked if Ford’s decision had taken him by surprise, Applegarth - who has seen star scrum-half Mason Lino sign a new three-year deal - said: “Yes, it did. When we found out we acted swiftly. Fordy had told me he’d agreed to move to Featherstone so we put plans in place to move on quickly which we’ve done. We’ll leave it at that.
