ROMFORD, UK – Romford Raiders have parted ways with Coach Erskine Douglas after less than a month in charge.
Douglas was brought in as Romford Coach following the departure of former Coach Jesse Hammill back to Canada. His arrival was announced on January 15th, while his departure was confirmed today (February 12th). He was behind the Romford bench for eight games overall, winning one against Sheffield Scimitars, but losing the other seven.
A statement from Romford owner John Scott on the Raiders website said: “Following continued poor results for the Raiders, the effect on attendances has been clear to see. The Raiders management would therefore like to thank Erskine Douglas who has agreed to step down from his role and therefore allow the team to make a small reduction in outgoings.
“In hindsight I was putting Erskine into an unfairly difficult situation, and I know that he wouldn’t have even considered it for any team other than Romford. The losses, and in particular the margins have disappointed us all, none more so than Erskine, despite the fact that his realistic approach warned that winning was always going to be difficult. He started with a difficult job, and the continued run of injuries and absences has done nothing to improve our chances or the team morale.
Departing coach Douglas
“I would like to thank Erskine for his effort over the past few weeks, in difficult circumstances,” he concluded.
Douglas came in halfway through what was already a terrible season for the Raiders. Not much more could’ve gone wrong for them, what with constant player departures, Zamboni’s breaking down and now a second coaching change. Due to this Erskine cannot be blamed for the continuance of poor form under his leadership, however there are strong rumours that many of the players did not get on with him or like his style of play.
Many players were angry following comments by Douglas in the Romford Recorder(*), and it was suggested that defenceman Danny Cox had quit the team after reading them. It remains to be seen if he will be in the line-up this weekend against Guildford and Peterborough.
With only 15 games left in the season Romford’s chances of making the playoffs appear slim, and they will now just be looking to improve performances and entertain their fans in the remaining games. (*) Erskine Douglas’ comments in the Romford Recorder can be read by clicking here. Contact the author dave.lambert@prohockeynews.com
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