Sheffield Steelers v Nottingham Panthers: How Jonathan Phillips hopes to spoil Corey Neilson's coaching return

Neilson spent 10 years as Panthers boss between 2007-2017 - initially as player-coach before moving behind the bench in 2013. He led the club through a sustained period of success during his time there, including one league championship, three play-off titles, six Challenge Cups and a Continental Cup triumph in Europe.

He has spent the last five years working on the continent, chiefly in Germany, but couldn’t resist the lure of returning to the National Ice Centre earlier this week after the club sacked Gary Graham following a poor start to the 2022-23 campaign, one which has left the Panthers languishing in sixth spot in the standings, eight points of Cardiff Devils in fifth.

Phillips has experienced both sides of Neilson over the years, for so long an opponent in the countless battles between the two teams, but also while benefiting from the 46-year-old’s leadership skills with Great Britain, where the Canadian has been an assistant coach alongside Adam Keefe and under Pete Russell since 2013.

As it stands, the Steelers are streets ahead of their East Midlands rivals, 12 points better off and in second place. But Phillips believes the arrival of Neilson will only serve to make the Panthers a tougher proposition for the remainder of the season, starting on Saturday night at the Utilita Arena (7pm).

“He has a proven track record and as a coach he’s right up there,” said Phillips. “He’s very good system-wise and with him coming in he’ll have everybody on the same page. Whenever there is a change of coach, it often sees the whole team step up because everybody is out to prove they deserve to be in the team.

“I think it will be more of an old-school battle tomorrow and we need to be wary of that bounce teams get when a new coach comes in.

“Basically, whoever wants it more will win.

"I don’t think system-wise he’ll have had chance to get everything nailed down, but nobody there is going to be happy with the way that their season has gone so far.

“They’ll be looking at this as a clean slate, a chance to reset. That can be a dangerous situation to walk into.”

Having seen Neilson at work first-hand, Phillips expects the Panthers to start moving in the right direction sooner rather than later.

“One of his biggest strengths is just his knowledge of the game, the way that he sees and conceives systems and how he can create plays and get those plays executed,” added Phillips.

“I’ve always taken plenty away from him every time we’ve been with GB. He’s very good when he’s explaining something – making it clear and not over-complicated.”

But while most of the focus tonight will be on the man standing behind the visitors’ bench, Phillips believes they will be welcomed by a Steelers team in good spirits, despite a 3-2 home defeat to Belfast Giants last Sunday ending a run of five straight league wins.

“We’re playing well, our game management has been really good and our scoring has come from throughout the whole line-up – we’re not just relying on the same two or three players to provide that,” added Phillips.

“We’re a group where there is a lot of buy-in, which I regard as very important given the way that we play.

"Because we’re such a deep team, we need everybody pulling in the same direction.”