LEE Radford can at least look forward to going around the supermarket without getting insults, even if he loses at Hull FC tonight.
The former Black and Whites boss makes his return to the club he guided to two Wembley wins but also the one that pretty much sacked him on live TV.
And coming from the city – albeit the east side, Hull KR territory – he knows just how much focus is on their fortunes.
He also found out brutally people are definitely not backwards in coming forwards whenever they see anyone from FC.
Radford recalled: “I live close to an Asda and I remember going in once and Hull had lost a few games on the spin.
“A chap came up to me and came out with a statement, ‘You want to try training them.’
“I was like, ‘Did he just say that? Did that just happen?’ But he was an old bloke and he just hobbled away from me. I was just thinking, ‘What do you think we do every day of the week?’
“It’s one of those but you have to give them the time of day. You don’t want to be called rude or arrogant, you have to give them that out of respect.
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“You can never escape the job, that’s what I’m now recognised for in Hull. It’s difficult and I’m in red and white territory, so it’s a double whammy.
“When you get beat, your own fans give it to you, then the Rovers fans give it to you!”
Last time Radford coached at Hull FC, his side lost 38-4 to Warrington in March 2020 and chairman Adam Pearson seemingly sacked him on live TV.
The truth was he had been told just before then but his time out of rugby league, which saw him agree to work with Dallas Jackals RU only for Covid-19 to get in the way, has been a good thing.
As he prepares to only travel across town before meeting the rest of his players, like Hull residents Mahe Fonua and Bureta Faraimo, he added: “The timing was right, even though the circumstances could’ve been better. That evening it felt like a release.
“The time out gave me time to reflect. Having reflected on plenty of stuff I definitely think there’s some adaptations made this time around.
“But it’s been pretty easy to just focus on Castleford this week. Hull’s team has swapped about over the last couple of weeks and their results have been all over the shop, so we had no choice!”
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