I would ask why now, why did he not have the same discussion with the players after the Warrington game or Catalan game. I get the impression that his intervention was more to do with Him being annoyed at the players for putting him into a position where he needed to let the coach go.
I agree the players have some responsibility but so does the coach, he picks the team, tells them his game plan and manages their ego's where necessary.
That's the impression I got from the interview.