The Stingrays sacked coach Rick Strachan yesterday for what they say were purely financial reasons, despite the club failing to make the playoffs for three consecutive Elite League seasons.
The search for a new coach has now begun, and after speculation that the player/coach could be a Stingrays player from this seasons team, or even a recent Elite League player, Stingrays director, Mike Pack, stated that the club did not have anyone specific in mind.
"We've got a blank piece of paper for the new player-coach role. We have not got anyone in mind, we'll sit down and think about the sort of person we need, that's very important to us. There are no pre-requisites, they don't have to have Elite League experience before, certainly they don't have to have played for Stingrays.Whoever takes the job will have a big task to get the Stingrays, who have finished in the bottom two for three seasons running, into the playoffs, with many fans adamant that without Strachan at the helm, the job will become much easier despite the Rays budget, which is dwarfed by many teams in the league.
"There are pros and cons of bringing someone straight in from North America, with recent exposure to that, and advantages of playing over here and having Elite League experience, it's a question of balance."
"Certainly the right kind of person will have to be up for the challenge."
