Jim Criner never thought it would be like this. Even when he left training camp in Georgia in early Spring, the Scottish Claymores' head coach felt it was with a team capable of repeating the World Bowl success of 1996.

Nothing from the first match in Spain against Barcelona Dragons convinced him otherwise.

The Claymores had mauled the Dragons on offence and it was only a misplaced kick from Gary Parker in the final seconds that had resulted in a losing start for Criner.

Yet it is now clear that, from the moment that ball left Parker's boot, it was to be a jinxed season for the Claymores.

Tomorrow in Germany, they face Frankfurt Galaxy having tumbled out of World Bowl contention with an apologetic 2-6 win-loss record.

The Claymores' 1998 season will be judged by such statistics but they do not capture the horrendous list of injuries.

Criner is committed to guiding the squad again next year and all he asks for is to play on a level playing-field.

Along with the injuries, the Claymores had to contend with a fierce start which saw three of their first four matches on the road. That did not help players' rehabilitation and Criner will make a plea to the league for coaches to have a say in how fixtures are scheduled for next year.

There is no doubt this season has put a strain on the head coach as the fate of his team has been outwith his control.

''I'm extremely disappointed about this season. I can't begin to tell you how much hard work and time I've put into it,'' he said.

''It paid off with the team we took to training camp. That part was right - I'd done my homework and I had a good football team. Then, I lost it.

''I want to put a team like that together again and hopefully they can stay healthy so I can win another World Bowl. That's my goal and that more important to me than going anywhere else or earn more money.

''Basically, I put together a team but never got to see them play. That's the frustrating thing.

''I will work as hard as I did again. The one thing I will do - and I don't know if it would have made a difference this year - is to spend more time on players' injury history.

''We lost two players with bulging discs and two players with sciatica. Those four players must have had a past problem that I didn't know about.

''That tells me that as much work as I put in, I missed the boat on players' medical history.

''I had the right players in terms of attitude, work ethic and young players with enthusiasm and talent.

''The other area, I will put more emphasis in is that I will make sure we have a couple of experienced defensive backs.''

Criner's cause could have been helped by re-recruiting George Coghill, a player he thought he had secured until he was recalled by Denver Broncos just three days before camp.

He was also counting on James Williams, another veteran of the World Bowl team, but he was clearly struggling with injury at camp and was cut before the season.

Criner would love to see the player roster increase from its current 42 to help ease situations like he encountered this year and will make a recommendation at the end of the season.

''It's something we bring up every year but it's a financial thing. Until we can put 20,000 people in the stands, then we'll be hit by the cost of adding to the roster,'' he continued.

''We have a hard-core group of 8000-9000 fans who will be with us through thick and thin. Hopefully, that group will grow as the young people come through.

''Our grass-roots programme was put in place, firstly to develop players who could play for us and, secondly, to build a fan base which will grow every year.

''In order for us to make all the hard work we've put in pay off, we need a long-term commitment from the league backers, otherwise they've not been fair with us.''

q Claymores' cornerback Kwame Ellis has an extra reason for getting a win in Frankfurt tomorrow. The Californian will marry fiancee Adrissa at a ceremony in Glasgow on Tuesday. ''I enjoy the Scottish culture and I thought it would be a great idea to get married here,'' he said.