'Passionate' Castleford Tigers supporters praised by head coach Craig Lingard

Despite an up and down campaign and another year of battling at the wrong end of the Super League table fans have rallied round to get behind the players when they could and crowds have stayed on the healthy side, which can help them secure Super League status.

“The fans have been outstanding this year,” said Lingard.

“They have followed us home and away and been very, very vocal.

“The passion's there, which is never in question and one of the big things I've noticed this season is how passionate people are about Castleford Tigers and about rugby league in the area.

“They've been very good with us this year and I think the club have been quite open with them throughout the season.

“It was really important at the start of the year to let the fans know what the project was because if we had kept our cards close to our chest and not let people know about the three-year plan then there might have been more discontent. They have been very understanding about where we've been and where we've come from this season.

“We've got to go into that second year of the project and bring the better quality players in to make the squad stronger.”