Cullen: Let down?

It's quite ironic that Paul protected his players in public, yet I think quite a few of them let him down.

Stevo on Boots 'n' All
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Sky Sports' rugby league legend Stevo told Boots 'n' All that former Warrington boss Paul Cullen was let down by his players.

Cullen left the Wolves by mutual consent after Monday's shock 28-36 defeat to rock-bottom Castleford, severing a 25-year association with his hometown club.

Despite steering the Lancashire side to safety when he joined as head coach in 2002, and guiding them to a Challenge Cup semi-final, Cullen incurred the wrath of the Warrington faithful after a run of poor form.

But Stevo believes the squad - which includes Australian stars Matt King and Michael Monaghan - must shoulder the blame for a series of lacklustre performances.

"It's quite ironic that Paul - who is such a proud man - protected his players in public, yet I think quite a few of the players let him down," Stevo said.

"They had nine internationals and Castleford had just one; they had a 14 point lead and they really should have sewn that game up. They had 12 minutes to play and it was quite obvious they just put the cue on the rack - you can't afford to do that."

Disillusioned

Although Cullen - who became the second coaching casualty of the Super League season following Peter Sharp's departure from Hull FC - has publicly stressed his desire to move on, Stevo paid tribute to his lengthy service - and thinks there should still be a place for the 45-year-old within the Warrington set-up.

"I'm rather surprised that Warrington have not requested that he do something within the club," Stevo added.

"Maybe the coaching post was a bit too far for him, maybe he had too much on his plate, maybe he didn't have the opportunity to coach and just concentrate on coaching.

"But I feel that there should be a position for a man that's given 25 years. He's worked very hard, his heart is there in the town and some of the fans - not all of the fans - turned against him.

"Ok, they should have beaten Castleford, the players know that - I wonder how the players feel now?

"I just hope that Paul doesn't walk away from the game. He looked extremely disillusioned after the match - the fans were chanting him out.

"The fans want one thing, they want success, they want to win all the time - sadly the directors want the same things."