Sheffield Steeldogs: Interview with player-coach, Ben Morgan, ahead of the 2024-25 NIHL National season.

Interview with Sheffield Steeldogs player-coach Ben Morgan ahead of their opening weekend of the 2024-25 season.

Transcript

00:00As a result of what's happened in the summer, what are the expectations for you as a coach?

00:11Well I spoke to everybody at the induction evening and just said we need to be competitive.

00:15And for me competitive means playing against the top teams like the Leeds, NK or close rivals

00:21and doing the business in their ink.

00:23If you are going to be serious contenders for any sort of silver there,

00:27you have to be able to go into those barns and pick up the points and I've seen that today.

00:32You're back in the player coach role obviously, which I think last got played about four years ago.

00:37How's that been? Are you enjoying it?

00:40Yeah, I'm not lying, it's been stressful.

00:42Luckily I've got a good right hand man behind me in the team, McElroy, who's been fantastic as our GM.

00:48So I've got a lot of people on board doing lots of different things and I'm not spinning places what I were last time.

00:53So it's been a much smoother process.

00:55You mentioned Jamie has come in as GM, how helpful has that been to you in your role?

01:00Involuble.

01:01And the team generally?

01:02Honestly it's been involuble, his knowledge of hockey around the world and in Europe.

01:06He was key in the signing of the imports and the information that he could get and scouting

01:11and getting up good references as people as they are on and off the ice and that's a key thing for us.

01:16And just everything meticulous on and off ice, we're running and we're just trying to make the club as professional as possible

01:21season upon season and he's a key part of that.

01:23That relationship with the Steelers, that working relationship is obviously a strong one,

01:26it's obviously a lot closer than it has been in the past for obvious reasons, the ownership being the main one.

01:31How are you finding that, has that been helpful?

01:34From day one it's been, I'm not going to say a seamless transition, there's been a couple of bumps in the road as you'd expect

01:41because lots of change, but the support that we've had from everyone in the backroom staff has been unquestionable.

01:46So I cannot complain one bit.

01:49Tough year last year for various reasons, changing ownership in the summer, turnover of players again.

01:56Are you more confident that you'll be more buoyant going into this season?

02:01I think we have to be, I think this season couldn't get any worse than what it was last year.

02:06I know we did things wrong but I'm very almost at what we did so the aspirations are high,

02:10with the boys in the changing room, with everybody at the club, we know that when the fans get behind us

02:14and see what we've got and what we can do, they'll be exactly with us in a second.