Disappointed Andy Last calls on Hull players to start delivering

New Hull head coach Andy Last described his team’s 54-18 defeat by Salford as a “kick in the guts”.

Last was promoted from his role of long-serving assistant into the hot seat when Lee Radford paid the price for a 38-4 home defeat by Warrington in March but, after a five-month wait for his first game in charge, he admitted he could hardly have made a worse start.

Despite taking an early lead through Albert Kelly’s score, the Black and Whites conceded 10 tries, four of them in the last 13 minutes as they collapsed alarmingly.

REPORT: Salford 54-18 Hull: 10-try Red Devils ruin Andy Last’s first game in charge

“It was a real kick in the guts,” Last said. “I’m bitterly disappointed with the performance.

“We just didn’t transfer anything from how we’ve trained into the game and that’s a concern for me as coach. It couldn’t have been any worse.

“We have to show more resolve when it gets tough. We didn’t show pride in our defensive line which is very disappointing.

“The players have got to start delivering. We haven’t performed well for the best part of 18 months so there’s a bit of soul-searching for these guys.

“We have to have more steel about us in defence, we have to show that adversity to dig in and to be prepared to bend our back. There were times when it looked too easy to concede.

“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and try to bounce back against a team equally disappointed with their performance this weekend.

“We’ve spoken to the boys and they’re all disappointed. We will come out the other side, there is no doubt about that.

“We’ve got to make sure we come in tomorrow accountable and honest and get ready for Castleford.”

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Last says he is likely to make changes for the game against Castleford and will check on the fitness of second rower Josh Jones, who injured his shoulder on his 200th Super League appearance.