AS disappointing as last week’s home defeat to Bristol Pitbulls will have been, there are still reasons to be cheerful for Sheffield Steeldogs, according to GM Jamie McIlroy.

After a hectic summer which brought about a complete rebuilding of the team - on and off the ice - the fact the 2024-25 NIHL National season is now in full swing has brought about a return to some kind of normality.

So far, the Steeldogs have had a bit of everything, a nice road win at Peterborough Phantoms and a hard-earned point in an overtime defeat at Milton Keynes Lightning being followed by the surprise 5-3 reverse against Bristol at Ice Sheffield.

For McIlroy - brought into his role by the Sheffield Steelers’ ownership in July - there is no expectation for a quick fix to overturn the disappointment of a 2023-24 campaign which saw the Steeldogs miss out on the post-season for the first time in the NIHL National era.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK: Player-coach Ben Morgan (pictured) and GM Jamie McIlroy are plotting a route back to success for Sheffield Steeldogs. Picture: Steeldogs Media/Peter Best.

But he believes the early signs are promising.

“We’re generally happy with the way things are going,” said 43-year-old McIlroy, a former player himself with the likes of Slough Jets and Streathan Redskins.

“When you walk into that locker room, you can see that the guys are all on the same page, there’s a buzz about it all - everybody has bought into what we’re trying to build and the direction that we’re looking to go in.

“There are going to be ups and downs and I think as soon as we can get on a bit of a run and the boys play more and more games together and they are more cohesive, I think it will be a very successful season for us.”

The Steeldogs stop-start season continues this weekend with just the one game again, this time at home on Saturday to a Peterborough team intent on gaining revenge for losing in their own barn two weeks ago.

McIlroy says wins at this early stage of the season are vital in order to boost teams’ chances of making it through to the last four of the NIHL Cup, a competition the Steeldogs won back in March 2022.

"Peterborough will be coming to ours looking to get those points back from us,” added McIlroy. “These first few games all go towards the Cup competition and if you want to make the semi-finals, we can’t get behind the curve and drop points as that would put us out of contention for progressing.”

Sheffield Steeldogs GM Jamie McIlroy aware patience is required to help bring back NIHL National success