Agar – Buck stops with me

Hull coach Richard Agar acknowledged that he is now firmly on the hot seat after his side were beaten 20-6 at home by Wakefield.

Not even the return of scrum-half Sean Long could stop the Black and Whites slipping to their fifth defeat in five Super League outings in 2011.

The result led to cries of ‘Agar out’ from some home spectators as they left the KC Stadium, though the man himself insists he will not be walking away.

It could well have been a different outcome on the night if the Airlie Birds had taken a few of the many try-scoring opportunities they fashioned, leaving their boss bemoaning their inability to put points on the board.

Restless

“When you’re one from six and you’ve been beaten at home by Wakefield with a performance like that, I’ve always said, the first place you look is the coach and the buck stops with me,” Agar said.

“That’s what we’ll do this weekend, have a look and take it from there.

“Crowds get restless and it’s not something I’ve not been used to since the day I got the job. Having said all that, I was taken aback by our performance and how poor it was.”

Asked if he was feeling the pressure, he added: “I think you feel the same every week. For the media, it’s: ‘Who will be the first coach to be sacked or a team wins in round one and they’re going to win the competition’.

“It’s over 27 rounds but we’ve had a poor start. I felt over the last few weeks that we’d made some strides and I’m unbelievably shocked and disappointed that we’ve not won that game after the chances we created. It hugely concerned me.

“Defensively we coasted and the amount of tries we bombed beggars belief.”

Wakefield coach John Kear knows all about the pressures of being in charge at Hull having been acrimoniously sacked by the club early into the 2006 season.

He was not the only former Airlie Bird who returned to haunt his old employers; Tommy Lee, who departed the KC Stadium at the end of the 2009 campaign, played a pivotal role in helping the Wildcats win on the road.

Maturing

“Tommy is a really good rugby league player and he was the heir apparent to Danny Brough (another former Hull scrum-half) once upon a time and it never quite worked out,” Kear said.

“He had a bad injury last year but he can play rugby league. I’ve known that by watching him since he was a bairn. He’s now 23, which is still very young, but he’s maturing into a very controlling, pivotal player.”

Kear, who has now seen his current side erase the four-point penalty placed on them for going into administration, appointed Agar as his assistant at Hull in the 2005 season.

“Richard has been here for a number of years now and I wish him well,” he added.

“I’m obviously really pleased we’ve won, but Richard knows what he’s doing and let’s hope the board of directors support him fully so he can see his contract out.”