Sheffield Steelers coach Aaron Fox keeping the faith as form slump continues

Sunday night’s 5-3 defeat at Fife Flyers extended the Steelers’ losing streak to four games - something that has not happened since February 2020.

Injuries and players no doubt playing through injuries have left Fox with a “fatigued” group, mentally and physically, as he stated after Saturday’s 4-2 home loss to Nottingham Panthers.

In terms of retaining the most prized possession of their grand slam year - the regular season title - there are still 40 games to go, so there is clearly no call for panic.

But this current uncharacteristic slump in form - this is a team who didn’t lose back-to-back games throughout 2023-24 – is clearly something that will have to be corrected sooner, rather than later.

As it stands, they are 10 points adrift of current leaders Cardiff Devils - who they lost 6-3 to in South Wales last Wednesday – but with three games in hand. There are significant opportunities to turn the deficit on its head, still.

Fox actually thought his team deserved to win in Kirkcaldy on Sunday night, 3-2 down going into the final 10 minutes, with Fife’s last goal an empty-netter scored with one second remaining.

The Steelers’ head coach will, however, be grateful for a clear week before his players return to action at home to Coventry Blaze on Saturday.

The Champions Hockey League, as enjoyable experience as it was, has left a telling impact, possibly in much the same way it did on the Belfast Giants, who struggled last season when it came to defending their own grand slam in 2022-23.

The Steelers have enjoyed some memorable nights on their European travels this past three months, but they need to quickly move on or emulate the Giants of last season when they trailed in a distant third in the league, 20 points adrift of their dominant South Yorkshire rivals.

Fox is already counting up the respective losses of his main title rivals and while he is aware of how many more games are to come, he will also be aware of how little margin for more error they may be between now and the end of March.

“We’ve got a deflated group right now” said Fox on Sunday night. “I think we’re at that crossroads. I don’t think we had to deal with this type of adversity last year in our title run but we’ve got a bunch of guys from the same core group in that dressing room that I have a lot of faith in.

“But right now has not been good enough and we’ll have some soul-searching to do this week and then a big game on Saturday against Coventry and then back up at Dundee on Sunday.

“Those are points we’re going to have to grab if we want to be in this down the stretch.

“I know we’’ve only got five losses on the board and Cardiff have three which is leading the league, so it’s not an insurmountable situation to be in, with 40 hockey games left.

“But it’s been a tough couple of weeks here and it’s something where we’re going to have to put our big boy pants on and dig ourselves out of.”

The Steelers meanwhile are helping police with their inquiries after crowd trouble flared at their home game with the Panthers.

In a statement released on Sunday, the Steelers wrote: “We are fully aware of the details of the incident that took place inside the arena last night, late in the third period, resulting in the game being suspended for several minutes.

“The club is co-operating with both the Arena and police. Many of those involved have already been identified. The club and Arena will take any action legally possible to ensure that those responsible do not visit our arena again for Steelers games.

“The Steelers condemn the actions of those involved. Our club is a family club and we are committed to ensuring that the arena is a safe environment for all to watch and enjoy this incredible sport.”