Hand on scouting mission

Thursday, 27th April 2006

Shortly before flying out of the country on a European scouting mission, Phoenix head coach Tony Hand revealed his recruiting drive is gathering momentum.

With a coaching seminar to attend and games to watch in Europe over the Bank Holiday weekend, Tony Hand has a busy schedule ahead of him but he admitted to rather being busy than not. “The first week has flown by since I came to Manchester and met the fans. We’ve had a lot of e-mail contact from players and the ‘phone has been pretty busy too,” he remarked.

“And now I’m off to a seminar and games over the weekend where there might just be one or two possible targets. The other key element of these weekends is the chance to meet with agents and other coaches and expand your field of contacts,” he added. “It’s a vital part of the job and can reap rewards later in the summer when you might need a late reference or two.”

With a totally clean roster sheet to fill before the Phoenix return to action in the Elite League, Hand admitted to being pleased with early talks. “We’ve had a number of players contact us and on top of those the club already had tabs on, the checking and gaining of references has swung straight into action. It’s still early in the close season yet and whilst there’s not great panic to sign guys, it is fair to say that we’ve made some progress in early talks with a couple of players and our first signings might not be too far away.”

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Hand on scouting mission