Coach Danny Stewart insists stars care about Vipers
Oct 27 2010 by James Hunter, The Journal
DANNY STEWART insists his Vipers players are just as concerned as the fans with their start to the season.
Vipers head to Cardiff Arena tonight to face the Devils (face-off 7.30pm) looking for only their third league win in 13 attempts since their Elite League campaign got underway.
The trip to Wales comes just four days after a section of Vipers’ own fans turned on them at Whitley Bay following their 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Devils, with some supporters claiming the players do not care enough.
But player-coach Stewart yesterday rejected those accusations. He insisted: “I can understand the fans’ frustrations, of course I can.
“We haven’t made the start we would have wanted and that’s obvious.
“But to hear some shouts directed towards the players on Saturday saying that we don’t care... that’s just a load of rubbish.
“Of course we care. We care just as much as the fans do. We want to put things right as much as anyone else.
“I know it was only a minority of frustrated fans who were shouting, but they were way off the mark.
“We all need to pull together and do everything we can to make sure we start winning games.” Vipers followed that defeat at Whitley Bay with a 4-2 reverse at Hull Stingrays on Sunday, meaning they are still waiting for their first road win of the season.
Stewart added: “It’s tough when you’re not winning away from home.
“I’m sure it’s a mental thing, because there’s no doubt that we are good enough to win away.
“But the longer you go without a win on the road, the harder it seems to become.
“We’ve got another hard game at Cardiff tonight – their rink is probably just about the hardest place you can go to as a visiting side.
“We have to concentrate on doing the right things, keep our discipline and give ourselves the best possible chance of coming away with the points.”
Stewart confirmed that Vipers have no new injury worries ahead of tonight’s game. Polish forward Jaroslaw Rzeszutko is due to have the cast removed from his broken right wrist today and could be back in action in as little as 10 days’ time.
“He’ll have the cast off and then we’ll see how things are,” said Stewart.
“It will probably be pushing it to try and play him this weekend against Belfast and Nottingham, but I am hoping he might be available next weekend for the home match against Cardiff and the trip to Sheffield.”
Rzeszutko suffered the injury in Vipers’ 3-2 defeat at Braehead Clan at the start of the month.
