Mark Applegarth addresses job security following York’s ’embarrassing’ Wigan defeat

York boss Mark Applegarth insists questions around his future are ‘part and parcel of the job’, but admitted the Knights’ 72-20 defeat to Wigan Warriors was ’embarrassing’.

2025 saw York clinch both the 1895 Cup and Championship League Leaders’ Shield in Applegarth’s first full season at the helm.

Having been promoted into Super League for the first time via the vote of an independent panel as the competition expanded to 14 teams, the Knights went on to enjoy a blistering start to life in the top-flight, winning two of their first three.

But since then, it has been a sobering reality with 11 defeats in their last 12 league games, and the worst of those came on Saturday afternoon at home against Wigan.

‘That could have turned very ugly with how Wigan started, it could easily have gone to 80 or 90’

The Warriors were 44-0 to the good come half-time at the LNER Community Stadium, and it wasn’t until York had shipped 72 points unanswered that they provided any sort of response.

Having seen his side score four tries in the final ten minutes, Applegarth said post-match: “That could have got even more embarrassing.

“I’m saying embarrassing because 72 points on you is still 72 points whether you’re playing a champion team or not.

“That could have turned very ugly with how Wigan started, it could easily have gone to 80 or 90.

“I challenged the team to give us a response, and the last ten minutes, we certainly got that.

“I can see people care, it’s not that, we just got outclassed. We got outclassed, some people don’t know what they don’t know, but they certainly do after that.

“I don’t think it’s a case of people not caring, we got outclassed by an absolute quality team.”

‘I haven’t turned into a bad coach overnight’

York’s only win in their last 12 Super League outings came at home against fellow newly-promoted side Toulouse Olympique.

Those two clubs entered the top-flight with half the central funding of the other 12 clubs in the competition, receiving £650,000 in comparison to £1.3 million.

Asked whether jobs were on the line in the second half of the campaign, Applegarth responded: “I think in elite sport, you always live with that (risk). All you can do is control what you can control.

“I’ve always been that way. Some years you’re flying high and everything is going right, but other years, you’ve got to accept you’re in the trenches.

“I always judge people on how you deal with things when your chips are down.

“I haven’t turned into a bad coach overnight. Last year, you’re getting awards for your coaching, and this year, you’re getting asked if you’re going to get sacked. That’s part and parcel of the job.”

For much of Saturday afternoon’s demolition job, it had looked like they were on course to enter the history books for all the wrong reasons, with Super League’s all-time record result being 82-0.

St Helens though hold onto that having thumped Salford Red Devils’ heavily rotated young side in Round 1 last term.

Applegarth continued: “I know where we’re going, I’ve got a clear vision for the club and the club has that vision as well.

“We’ve got to go through the process of getting the right contingent to fulfil that vision.

“Needless to say, after every loss, I always assess myself harder than anyone else. Have I got my messages right? Have we got our coaching right?

“Ultimately, it’s me that’s head coach and I’ll own that performance. I won’t be passing the book to anyone else.”