Leading players such as Paul Mellor may now leave Cas

The Tigers face a large drop in the level of central funding from the RFL, while the much-reduced salary cap will see most of their best players leave.

"I've done a bit of work on the salary cap and it is very restrictive," said Tigers chief executive Richard Wright.

Nevertheless, Cas are planning to keep a full-time squad in League One.

"We hope to maintain a full-time squad next season," added Wright.

"Some of the guys want to stay in Super League, and we can't blame them for that. But we would hope to retain most of the others."

Hull seal Tony signing

Castleford have already seen Motu Tony depart for Hull, while the likes of Ryan Hudson, Wayne Godwin and Andy Lynch are all expected to leave in the near future.

SUPER LEAGUE v NATIONAL LEAGUE ONE Central RFL funding: �750,000 v �120,000 Salary cap: �1.8m v �300,000 Average attendances: 7,000 v 3,000 (predicted)

The Tigers will also have to hire a new coach, although Gary Mercer who ended the season at the helm, could yet be reappointed.

Relegation saw Mercer lose his job at The Jungle but the former New Zealand international immediately reapplied for the position.

"The appointment of a coach is part of the process of looking back and looking forward," said Wright.

Dave Woods' verdict: Cas can bounce back

"Gary has done a tremendous job in pulling things around these last few weeks. Certainly the players are playing a lot better now.

"He has put his plans forward and they look quite good. It's a very important appointment, the most important at any club, and we need to make sure that we make the right choice.

"We needed to rebuild the first-team operation, whichever league we were in."

Robbie Paul: Relegation must go

Castleford could yet earn a reprieve if the winners of next month's National League Grand Final fail to meet the criteria for promotion to Super League.