Aston's heartbreak over '˜soft' Sheffield Eagles

In a typically honest assessment of his side's position, the Eagles chief described the performance as '˜heartbreaking' after the Eagles were put to the sword by a Broncos side who eased their way passed the 60 point mark at the OLP.With the Eagles again depleted following a raft of injuries, Aston was down to his last 17 players and the weakness was brutally exposed by the Broncos, leaving the long-serving coach to again question his side's mental toughness in the heat of battle.'It breaks my heart to say this but I knew what was coming,' he admitted to The Star. 'I knew because with what we had in the sheds and with the way they have been mentally and physically.'That is heartbreaking. 'It is heartbreaking because what I am committed to is working hard, and I am committed to trying to help them. 'It is not rocket science about what our problem is. We have a soft underbelly and when it gets tough, we pack in.'We have come back into Sheffield for the fans in our home city and we are embarrassing. I spoke about it before the game and yet after three minutes we let a try in because we are not disciplined enough to fetch the game plan. We don't deliver it.'We kick the ball straight to players like Kieran Dixon, who has been at Super League level. Come on, why do we make it some much easier for them, and that's the indiscipline and unprofessional nature that we have.'With the likes of Matty Fozard, Matty James, Simon Brown and Josh Toole all sidelined, Aston was given a further blow when full-back Corey Makelim was forced to drop out through illness.Despite giving a debut to loanee Thibault Franck and having veteran centre Menzie Yere available for the first time, the Eagles are still in the midst of an injury crisis showing no sign of abating.'It is not brand new it has been happening all year,' he added.'It will be interesting to see what happens because I am going to be quite brutal and honest this week again. The sad thing for me is that I had 17 players today, no more, and there are a large amount
Mark AstonMark Aston
Mark Aston

Sheffield Eagles director of rugby Mark Aston admitted he knew what was coming after his side were handed another heavy home defeat against top four chasing London Broncos.