BRAEHEAD CLAN’S players have been given a vote of confidence by the club’s hierarchy.
It has been an indifferent start to the season for the team that came to within a point of winning the Elite League title, only to be pipped by the Sheffield Steelers.
A strong squad was assembled over the summer by Ryan Finnerty ahead of their maiden trip into Europe where they fought valiantly in the Champions Hockey League. Their league form has not quite lived up to expectations however, with Clan currently sixth in the standings having recorded four wins from 10 games.
Undoubtedly, a contributing factor has been an extended period on the road as a result of Disney On Ice moving into their Braehead home for almost a month.
But Gareth Chalmers, Clan’s hockey director, believes there are positive signs that Finnerty’s squad have what it takes to.
“We have confidence that the group of players we have recruited can still see the club compete at the top end of the table,” he said. “We won’t make any rash decisions off the back of results. However we will make changes if we feel the need to, if the right players are available and we feel like it’s going to improve the team.
“Statistically speaking, we’re not much worse off than last season. We’ve already picked up as many points in the Erhardt Conference [games against Belfast Giants, Cardiff Devils, Sheffield Steelers, Coventry Blaze and Nottingham Panthers] than we did in the whole of last season.
“The difference this season is we are now in a much stronger Gardiner Conference. We’ve lost recently to Dundee, Edinburgh and Fife which, in the comparable fixtures last season, we came away with the wins.
“However, we remain undefeated on home ice and we were always aware that there was very little chance of dominating the conference so much for a second season running.”
Tomorrow Belfast Giants come to town, and Chalmers added: “We’ve got a run of three big home games coming up which will bring us more in line, having spent the month out of the Arena. Throughout the league, home teams are winning 90 per cent of games, so it’s vital we get back on track over the coming weeks.”
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