Birrell sets his stall out

CHELMSFORD,U.K- Returning head coach Dean Birrell recently took time out of preparing for the new season in Chelmsford for an exclusive interview with me on behalf of Pro Hockey News. Birrell had already announced that there would be little changes to the roster after a very successful season and the early signs are that he is staying true to his word with only two new faces out of the ten players signed so far. “I am very happy with the squad so far. I am not looking for many new faces to come in. We’re obviously looking at what we had last year and who we had and we’re speaking to them and so far it is looking good,” Birrell said ” Last year we had it our own way a lot of the time, but we certainly are not expecting an easy time this year and we know what we have to do to up our game, there may be some tweaking going on, you can always look to improve the team.” Three of those signings are the young hard working line of Tom Foskett, Ross Brears and James Ayling. I asked Birrell about how he expects them to perform and develop; “They have to up their game and they have the potential to do so. It is down to them, but we will be by their side encouraging and pushing them on to better things, It is entirely up to them and I will be looking to see how much the lads want it,” Birrell said “If they want it enough then they will get their opportunities, we will work them as much as we can and see where it goes, we are expecting them to perform as we are with the rest of the squad.” The Chieftains were dealt a blow when net minder Mike Robinson left the club to start a new life with his family in Canada. However the club was quick to replace him with returning goalie Andy Moffat. “Moffs” had left the club last summer to return to his homeland in Scotland however due to one reason and another he has moved back south and was eager to sign up for the Chieftains. “I did get offers from elsewhere, but once I got the call from Dean I knew where I wanted to play,” Andy Moffat said  Birrell was excited to get a former player of Moffat’s calibre back; “I am delighted with this signing I have worked with him for a number of years and he is an outstanding goalie. I know what he is capable of and what he can do, he is a game winner,” Birrell said “When I knew he was coming back south we got in touch with him and he was happy to sign, he will be pushing Ben Clements on a lot and that can only be good for Ben too as well as that he is going to be able to pass on his knowledge and experience to some of the younger goalies as well as the Warriors (Chelmsford’s second side) goalies whoever they may be.” I asked Birrell about the heights the club could reach next season; “Success can be defined by many things such as how much we have improved not necessarily on what we achieve. First and foremost we don’t have any pressure on us, people think we’re a ‘moneybags’ team and we’re not, we could have gone down that route, but we didn’t as we didn’t want the club to end up in the situation it was a couple of years ago and be in financial problems,” Birrell said “Other teams have the pressure on them such as Invicta (Dynamos) and the other teams that were there or thereabouts last season. Our aim is to stay in division 1 and then target a play off spot, after that it is down to the boys really and whether they have the hunger and commitment to go for the play off title.” With regards to bringing in players from outside the UK, Birrell was quick to put the record straight; “The philosophy of the club is local based players and that goes for import players too. We are looking for offensive players who will bring something to the team, but like anything in this sport never say never. We aren’t in a position or we don’t want to go talking to agents and flying guys in from Canada or Slovakia or wherever. We would rather spend the money on equipment on the core squad and the ice time availability.” Birrell said Birrell has also taken on the role of being head coach of the second division side the Chelmsford Warriors. Birrell had this to say about how he is coping with the added pressure of running two teams; “We have spoken to some people about the coaching position on the bench with the Warriors, but I am not looking to rush into making a decision on the coaching role. We have to get the right person in for the role and who is willing to work with me and the club on getting the Warriors playing good standard of hockey and not treating it like a knockabout bit of fun,” Birrell said  “The Warriors are there to bring junior players into senior hockey and blood them in to the Chieftains way of doing things. I am confident we will get the right person in. On a personal level it hasn’t been to difficult as at the moment we don’t have a team, but once we do things will definitely get harder but that is where the Warriors coach will come in.”  Things are definitely moving in the right direction for a team that just 12 months ago was staring bankruptcy and oblivion in the face. With two teams set to ice, financially comfortable as well, next season the club is certainly moving forward. If you are interested in getting in touch with Birrell about the vacant coaches slot at the Warriors, then feel free to email him coach@chelmsfordchieftains.co.uk with your CV/Resume.   Contact the author at Pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com