Leeds Knights owner Steve Nell on coach Ryan Aldridge and how long he will be in charge

Whether the 43-year-old is behind the bench when the 2022-23 NIHL National campaign begins, though, is another matter, although that should become clearer by the end of the month with the two set to have further talks.

When Aldridge was appointed to succeed Dave Whistle last month, Nell was keen to stress it was on an interim basis.

But news that the former Swindon Wildcats and Basingstoke Bison coach is in place until the end of the play-offs will be warmly greeted by both players and fans, Aldridge posting an impressive 7-3 record in the 10 games he has presided over, keeping the Knights in contention for a top-four regular season finish.

Aldridge spends the majority of his week back home in Swindon, where he also has a full-time job. It means there will be a lot to consider on both sides before any decision is made on whether he extends his time in Leeds beyond May.

Either way, there is no doubt Nell - for who Aldridge has previously worked at Swindon and Okanagan Hockey Academy - is pleased with the impact he has had.

“Ryan will be here until the end of the season, we talked earlier this week about it and came to an agreement,” said Nell.

“We’ll be sitting down before the end of the month to discuss what happens after that and we’ll go from there.

“There’s a good young team here with bags of potential but they need the direction, they need the coaching and I’m sure if it’s not Ryan then it will be somebody similar to Ryan who we bring in in order to give them that.”

While there was initial uncertainty on how long Aldridge would remain in charge when he arrived in January, it would have been a surprise had Nell decided to change coaches again before the end of the season, particularly given the previous, long working relationship between the two.

“It’s gone well since he arrived. We’ve got a young team, yes, but Ryan has shown what is possible if they buy in to what he’s trying to do.

“We had that disappointing defeat to Basingstoke a couple of weeks back, but everybody bought into what Ryan said to them the week after and to come out of last weekend with two wins like we did was a fantastic response.”