Beaumont eats humble pie
Leigh boss Derek Beaumont says he will take the season opening loss to Batley on the chin and believes Neil Jukes is still the right man to lead the Centurions.
Writing in the Leigh Observer, Beaumont said he has no regrets in appoiting Jukes.
“Despite Sunday’s loss to Batley, I also have no regrets in trusting Neil Jukes to lead the team to achieve our goals.
“I have never been one for making excuses and have always been happy to take it on the chin and that I will do on this one.
“My only reservation from last year, which I addressed with the RFL, was that while Wakefield consistently lost last season, they lost at a Super League pace.
“On the other hand, we won consistently but at a Championship pace save for certain games; the obvious ones being the Bradford games. I feel it is vitally important, for the new structure to work, to have a consistent ruck speed in both competitions so that when the two meet nobody in the Championship is at a disadvantage by having to up the pace.
“It is pointless having a side of Super League, NRL and international players if there is no benefit to it in terms of the pace the game is played at.
“In simple terms it is like buying a Ferrari to enter into a race with a 30MPH speed limit when a much cheaper car will give you the same chance under those restrictions.
“That being said I don’t want to take away from what Batley obviously enjoyed as an emphatic victory, judging by their celebrations; they should be immensely proud of their achievements.
“Batley are a great club steeped in history and have a ground with character that they make the most of. John Kear is a respectable and successful coach and will deservedly be proud of his troops.”
Beaumont said he drew comfort from seeing Batley fans happy.
“Our defeat enabled a few hundred Batley fans to enjoy a big smile and have some fun and, whilst that probably saw near on 2,000 Leigh fans heading home bewildered and disappointed, in the end I drew comfort from the enjoyment of the Batley fans,” he said.
“They deserve their enjoyment, our fans have had two years of smiling and I am more than confident we will serve up many more results and performances this season to see them smile many more times again.
Beaumont also said he won’t respond to comments made on radio by former Leigh boss Paul Rowley.
“I prefer to maintain my integrity and stay true to my morals by not commenting further as, like him, I had stated in my release that I would not do,” he said.
“I have no desire to listen to the audio as it would only serve to test my resolve in staying true to myself which I would not break so I will leave it at that.
“I am sure with time it will all be forgotten and I will be able to look back with no regrets and with my integrity intact.”