Sheffield Steelers need to utilise home comforts in order to achieve Elite League title dream

But four of the Steelers’ remaining six games are at the Utilita Arena, two coming this weekend against Nottingham Panthers and, tomorrow, title rivals Guildford Flames.

Last Saturday’s comprehensive 4-0 loss to leaders Belfast Giants was the Steelers’ ninth loss on home ice this season, although they bounced back quickly in front of their own fans with a battling 2-1 win over Dundee Stars in midweek.

It may have been far from convincing against the league’s bottom club but, at this stage of the season, it isn’t about performances. Results are king.

And it is results elsewhere that the Steelers’ are going to need to be in their favour if they want to end their seven-year wait for the regular season league title.

Fox admits he has struggled to put his finger on why his team have been better on the road this season - 19 wins from 25 games - but knows the venue will ultimately be immaterial to his team’s title hopes.

They just need to win and, from the first puck drop against arch-rivals the Panthers tonight , they will probably need to be near-perfect in order to achieve their primary target for the season.

“For some reason we’ve just not been as good a hockey team at home as we have been on the road,” the Steelers’ head coach told The Yorkshire Post. “

“From a preparation point of view, I think we’re uber-prepared when it comes to home games, it’s our venue, our meeting rooms and all the facilities that you could possibly need, all those home comforts, before the game.

“You would love to deep dive on what exactly our issues are at home. I think maybe the starts haven’t been as good and then you find yourselves wanting to make up for that and then you make decisions that you perhaps wouldn’t normally make.

“For some reason, we’ve lost a little bit of confidence here.”

The head-to-head series against second-placed Guildford perhaps embodies Steelers’ season perfectly, in that neither team has beaten the other on home ice yet.

The Steelers will be determined to end that sequence when the two meet for a sixth and final time on Sunday, both no doubt hoping that fourth-placed Cardiff Devils can take points off Belfast in their double-header weekend at the Odyssey Arena, where Fox takes his team next Friday.

“Saturday is huge for us,” added Fox. “Against Nottingham, a huge rival, a huge crowd - it would be nice to play our best hockey here.

“Some of our key games lately have all been on the road so, first and foremost, it would be nice to have a statement game for us at home on Saturday.

“And then we know what type of team Guildford is, they play really fast, they’re really good on the rush and you’ve got to match speed with them and be ready to win all the battles. Like us, they still have plenty to play for, so we know that one is going to be a huge test for us.”