Jon Wilkin compares Danny McGuire sacking to Christian Horner’s F1 exit

Jon Wilkin has admitted he thought the sacking of Danny McGuire was a ‘joke’ when he first heard it: and has likened the situation to the shock dismissal of Formula 1 supremo Christian Horner.

Horner and McGuire have both lost their jobs in the same week, with the Red Bull CEO let go by the Formula 1 team just days after McGuire was sacked by Castleford Tigers in Super League.

Wilkin, speaking on Sky Sports’ The Verdict, has revealed he didn’t believe the rumours were true when he was first told of the news – but says that the lack of clarity and communication surrounding why McGuire has gone is reminiscent of how he sees the situation concerning Horner.

Speaking on Wednesday, he said: “I was blown away, I actually thought it was a joke.

“Danny McGuire is one of the most promising young British coaches in the game. He’s a legend of the game, and it reminded me today because we’ve seen Christian Horner get let go by Red Bull.

“With Danny McGuire, it’s a similar thing. There’s been so little information come out as to why, and the void has been filled with speculation.”

Wilkin then admitted he had wondered whether there was an internal rift between McGuire and someone at Castleford that had potentially led to him losing his job – with the St Helens great questioning the timing of the sacking.

He continued: “I’m going to speculate that there had to be something acute that’s happened, whether it’s between him and Chris Chester or Chris Chester, the board and him, something has happened.

At this stage in the year, you don’t just move a guy like Danny McGuire on when you’ve seemingly said in the past you’re going to give him time to get it right.

“We’ll find out, it’s just a strange one.”