Glasgow Clan chairman Neil Black admits he’s frustrated by the club’s plight as the Braehead-based club prop up the rest in the Viaplay Elite League.
Black, however, praised the club’s fans, nicknamed the Purple Army, for sticking with Clan during what is, statistically, Clan’s worst season since joining the Elite League in 2010.
The owner said: “I’m extremely frustrated, like every else and obviously, it’s a struggle for the team, but the fans’ support has been absolutely tremendous.
“It’s been most uplifting for everyone and to see the Purple Army turn out in their continued numbers, particularly in recent games, has been superb and it’s keeping everyone buoyant for the future prospects.”
The team, sponsored by Aspray Glasgow West, has recently been hit by the departures of senior players, Mathieu Roy and Nolan LaPorte, and injuries to Shawn Boutin and Colton Waltz.
Black added: “There’s no doubt there’s been a challenge this season. Changing the coach mid-season is not a first, but we’re concentrating on filling the positions for the injured players.
“Stephen Dixon and Dyson Stevenson, along with Craig Peacock as the new captain, are an unbelievable leadership group.
“Stephen and Dyson are doing a fabulous job and the priority for us is filling the two defencemen positions because of the unfortunate guys who are out, possibly for the season.
“It’s hard to playing with three import D-men and we’re hopeful we’ll have some good news at some point very soon.
“Of course, we need to look at the attacking areas as well, but realistically, we’re not going to find 60 goals players to replace Roy and LaPorte at this time.”
He said: “When we came into this season, we thought we had a significantly upgraded team from last year, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way.
“We thought we would be challenging in the upper echelons. We got really unlucky with two or three major injuries early in the season and they were hard to replace.”
With three months of the season left to play, Black also revealed there are no plans to replace interim head coach Dixon and associate coach Stevenson in the immediate future.
Black said: “We’ve done a lot of looking in terms of coaching and there are some very good candidates out there, all of whom are potential for next season.
“I don’t think there’s the right person for right now and not anything that would be a better solution than what we have in Stephen and Dyson.
“We’re certainly not looking for a extreme short-term fix at this moment. It’s the same for the general manager role. We have some really good candidates and I think the leadership group we have is better to work with to take us to the end of the season.
“It means whoever comes into that role can come in a cleaner sheet of paper and start afresh after this season. We’re looking for the right people in the right places, but it won’t be until 2023/24.”
PICTURE: Clan v Stars by Al Goold courtesy of Viaplay Elite League
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