Storm hit by injury blow after making losing start
MANCHESTER Storm have an injury crisis after starting the new Elite League campaign off with back-to-back home and away defeats to Nottingham Panthers at the weekend.
Mike Hammond (knee), Felix Antoine-Poulin (wrist), Chris Auger (shoulder) and Harrison Ruopp (groin) are all unavailable.
“The injuries we have at the moment aren’t the type you can shake off in a week,” said head coach Ryan Finnerty. “They are longer term and our physios are working flat out to aid the players’ recovery.
“We only operate with a small squad and to lose four players at once takes its toll.
“Nottingham are a big side and our players put in a big effort on Saturday night, but were shattered after the home on Sunday.
“I have been making some phone calls to agents and am hoping to have at least one, maybe two, new signings for the weekend.
“If we bring players in from the USA or Canada we can only bring them in for three months at a time and the administration fees for visas runs into thousands of pounds.”
It’s a fast turn round as Storm have two big games this weekend, away to Sheffield on Sunday and then at home to Glasgow on Sunday evening in Altrincham.
One thing that pleased Finnerty from the weekend was the size of the home crowd.
“Our season ticket numbers are up 30 per cent and we also had a lot of new fans at the rink. We offer great group packages for local sports clubs, both adults and children.
“Attracting bigger crowds will allow me to add numbers to the squad in the coming months.”
Anybody interested in booking a group package for a game can contact dave@storm-office.com. GARETH Southgate believes the only way Marcus Rashford is going to improve for United is if he plays more regularly.
The Reds striker started for England against Spain on Saturday night and while he scored, he missed two other big chances.
Rashford has started just one game for United this season and will miss the next three after his red card at Burnley – and Southgate thinks that impacted on his performance.
“The only way for him to improve is by playing. He knows we have real belief in him,” the England manager said. “I think we also have to remember his age and what he’s achieved in a short period of time.
“He’s got a tremendous mentality, he’s got great talent, we think he’s got everything to go on and be a top player and I’m sure he’ll do that.”
Rashford scored for England after a great assist from United teammate Luke Shaw, but also missed two good chances during his performance at Wembley.
And Southgate was eager to praise Rashford for his goal rather than berate him for the chances he missed.
“I’d rather focus on the fact he got his goal, which was really well taken. Good save from the header. And he’s in the right position to try and finish the next one,” Southgate said.
“As he gets more experience and confidence in those situations, he’ll finish them.
“He’s a player that in this period we definitely wanted to invest time in - that’s why we started Gomez and Rashford and Shaw.
“He’s scored a goal and was in the penalty box more. At times, his previous goals have come outside the box.
“We know he can hit things, we’ve been encouraging him to get higher up the pitch, not drop quite as deep and he got his reward for that.”
Jordan Henderson is also confident Wythenshawe lad Rashford can continue making strides with England, and help fill the void left by Jamie Vardy.
“We know how talented Marcus is,” said the Liverpool midfielder.
“His was a great finish. He had another one or two chances that maybe he would have liked to have scored, but I thought he looked sharp. “He was lively and he’s always a threat on the counter-attack. “He’s a fantastic young player so he just needs to keep learning, keep improving. He’s a big part of our team.” Vardy’s decision to effectively retire at the age of 31 - he has indicated he would help in an emergency but has otherwise called time - drew a typically measured response from manager Gareth Southgate. It has, though, left England short of established senior strikers. Former United front man Danny Welbeck was the only centre-forward available from the bench on Saturday night and the likes of Dominic Solanke and Tammy Abraham have not progressed as hoped since being capped by Southgate. Reflecting on Vardy’s decision, Liverpool skipper Henderson admitted to an element of surprise. “Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “I know Vards and he’s a robust player. He’s Jordan Henderson on Marcus Rashford