Hull FC take on St Helens this Thursday night.
Hull FC celebrate Joe Batchelor”s try against Huddersfield.
Hull FC could finish bottom of Super League for the first time this season, but the reality isn’t giving interim coach Andy Last sleepless nights just yet.
The Black and Whites are currently on a seven-game losing run and are just two points off bottom-placed Huddersfield Giants with six rounds of the season to go.
But Last, with just two wins from 13 games in interim charge this year, remains upbeat. Taking his side to St Helens on Thursday night, he’s still confident of getting a performance and, most importantly, a result.
“I’m not worried about the prospect of finishing bottom,” Last said. “It’s the reality of the situation that we’re currently in but there’s only one way to fix it, and that’s with hard work and that’s with better performances.
“The team has shown that they’re capable of getting some wins and Huddersfield is an example to us; a couple of wins and the table can look a lot different and it can lift the whole mood of the club. The players are aware of that and looking forward to Thursday night’s game.”
Challenging his side to make better choices, Last is well aware of where his side needs to improve. He explained: “Last week was the story of our season, really; some aspects of it were good and some aspects of it were very, very poor.
“We didn’t get the start right again; we conceded soft tries through the middle of the field, and our yardage defence wasn’t good enough. We’re getting marched up the field far too easily, and we’re not nailing the key moments.
“We just need to sustain and build pressure and not apply it to ourselves. We’re allowing opponents, without working hard, to build positional pressure against us. So that’s a big area that we need to improve.
“It’s all on decision-making. We’re putting ourselves in that cycle of pressure, which teams want to put you in, and unfortunately for us, we’re not asking teams to build that.
“We’re gifting them it through some cheap turnovers and some cheap penalties. It’s a big area of focus for us just to own our position a little bit better and build a little bit more pressure.”
Meanwhile, Last will also go head to head against two very familiar faces – with the interim also praising Saints’ recent call to put Harry Robertson into the halves.
“I know Eamon O’Carroll and Lee Briers very well,” Last said. “Eamon spent a little bit of time here (at Hull). He’s an exceptional coach and a great guy, and then Lee Briers, I worked with at England, so I know how smart he is from a technical point of view.
“They’ve got good staff there and they’ll be setting their team up to perform at their absolute best. I also think the moving of Harry Robertson into the six spot has certainly helped them. He was sensational last week against York; every time he touched the ball, they couldn’t deal with his running game.
“Then there’s Jack Welsby at full-back and Tristian Sailor at centre, so they’ve got run threats on both sides of the ball. They’re a dangerous team and they have got some really good individuals that can hurt you.”