Lee Radford looking ahead after nightmare Super 8s campaign
Lee Radford admitted that Hull FC are looking forward to a well-needed break now after what has been a disastrous two months.
The Black and Whites lost their 11th game in a row on Friday night as they went down to a 14-12 defeat to Wigan Warriors at the DW Stadium in the final game of the Super 8s.
Hull’s last win came on June 29 against now relegated Widnes Vikings, but Radford wants to put the season to bed now and go into 2019 with a clean slate.
He said: “It has been an unbelievably challenging time over the last seven weeks, it’s tough when you know you are not competing for anything.
“You are a double-glazing salesman trying to sell poor windows to your team because you know there is nothing to play for. Bring on 2019.
“I think the players just need to get away now because it has been tough on them. I know there has been some performances where it looks like they don’t care but it has been genuinely challenging for them as well. It is important that we don’t forget this and try to use it in a really positive manner in 2019.
“I’ve been planning ahead for ten weeks. It has been a fantastic opportunity to review everything and realise things that we have done right and wrong. Our job right now is to implement them into 2019. I think the reputation we had at the beginning of 2018 will be different to what it is in 2019.”
Radford came up against Shaun Wane for the last time on Friday, with the latter leaving the Warriors and joining Scottish rugby union at the end of the season.
And Radford said he has the utmost respect for Wane, who he regards as a close friend.
He added: “I’ve got a lot of time for Shaun.
“When I first got the (Hull) job, he was the first coach to message me and ask if I wanted to go for a coffee and if there was any advice I needed then he was the first one to go out of his way.
“He is a fantastic coach and I genuinely hope they will go on and win it (Grand Final). I want him to do really well in the role he has taken. I’ve got a lot of respect for what he has done and him as a person.”