'Do your job' Tony Smith shares Hull FC owner's message and player's social media advice

Tony Smith says he can't put a timeframe on how long it will take to turn Hull FC around, with the head coach reaffirming he has the backing of the senior club hierarchy, who 'understand the process' the club has to go through.

Under pressure after a tough start to the season, the Airlie Birds head across the river Hull on Good Friday to take on Hull KR once again. With five defeats from their opening six games, Smith's side desperately need a result as they look to ignite their season.

And with the animosity building from all corners, Smith revealed that the message from owner Adam Pearson and CEO James Clark is still very much one of support.

Asked in his pre-match press conference what they've said to him this week, Smith replied: "Crack on. Do the job that you were brought in to do, and that's what I'm doing. They're good with that. They know it's a project. They knew it wasn't going to happen overnight.

"I've been honest about where we're at, and has confidence been down? Yeah, it has, but at some stage, when your confidence is down, you've got to work harder, dig in, and do something about it. There's no better week to do that.

"This is life in rugby league, and sometimes it's tough. If you're not tough enough and you don't work hard enough, then you won't get through it, and you won't come out of the other side. Those are pretty similar principles to most parts of life. We'll just keep working hard. It's all we can do.

"There’s no exact science (to turning Hull FC around). I’d love to be able to say it will happen this week. We’ll be trying this week, and I’ll say if it’s not this week, then it’ll be the week afterwards, and if it’s not the week after, then it'll be the week after that. We’ll keep trying hard and working hard, and when it turns around, it will turn around."

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In the meantime, Smith is advising his players to stay off social media and look for motivations as they build up to the 245th derby, with Hull heading to Craven Park as massive underdogs.

"It's hard," Smith added. "I don't read social media, but for young people not to read it nowadays, I'd be crazy to expect that. It's part of society now. Do they read it? Absolutely, they do. Most of them. There's a couple who, what I would say, are sensible ones that don't.

"But how does it feel when someone tells you that you are c..p? How do you feel? You feel low on confidence. You can either use that as a motivator, or sometimes people believe it and go that way. It's difficult for them, but it's a choice thing.

"It's a choice whether to read it in the first place, it's a choice whether to believe it, and it's a choice whether you're going to do something about it. They are all choices that we have. We're hoping to make more of the right choices."