A FURIOUS Peter Gentle labelled the skill level of his side as "appalling" after watching Hull FC head into the play-offs on the back of a crushing defeat.
Hull were swept aside 38-12 by St Helens as a woeful performance ended any hopes of a fifth-place finish and left FC's fate in terms of finishing in the top six out of their hands.
Outscored by seven tries to two, Hull gifted Saints three first-half tries with their errors and, despite a second-half rally, the Black and Whites finished the regular season on a sour note with a performance that left many questioning their credentials as play-off contenders.
"The skill level at times is appalling for this level," said Gentle after watching his side's fragile attack again fail to spark on the back of a catalogue of errors.
"We are our own worst enemy. We just can't take the tip.We have to address it. We have been addressing it and we will continue to address it.
"We can defend when we are fresh, but we are a bit battered at the moment and we struggled to aim up in defence. We told the players to keep some composure. We were desperate to win and that showed in our attack with the lack of composure."
Hull's attacking performance mirrored that of their Wembley woe, despite at least notching up two tries more than they managed in the Challenge Cup final.
With senior players in his side the guilty party, Gentle admitted it was disappointing, but stressed Hull can still turn it around.
"I am confident we can turn it around but we will rely on Warrington now to do us a favour so we get to play here," added Gentle.
"We were up against a very good side and we didn't need to gift them 22 points in the first half. We gave them a massive leg up and in the second half the scoreboard pressure could be seen in our attack.
"In the first half we gifted them three tries and to come in 22-0 down was extremely disappointing. We started the second half well, got some possession down their end and then we tended to panic again. We didn't handle it really well."
Hull never looked likely winners against St Helens as two glaring errors set up two of Saints' four first-half tries. Despite a Richard Whiting score straight after half-time giving them some hope of a comeback, it was only faint hope and the visitors again put their foot down to cut through a Hull defence that has lost its bite in the last two weeks.
A Danny Tickle try late in the game provided scant consolation as Hull's four-game unbeaten run in the league ended in alarming fashion.
All eyes will now be on this evening's clash in the south of France with Hull now set to meet Catalan Dragons next week, barring a landslide victory for Hull KR on Sunday against London Broncos. Should Catalan beat Warrington Wolves tonight they will knock Hull out of sixth and leave the Black and Whites with a third trip of the year to Perpignan. A win for the Wolves will see the KC host the French outfit next week.
