Sheffield Steeldogs v Leeds Chiefs - Sam Zajac eyes positive response in Yorkshire derby

The Chiefs were hammered 11-1 at Bracknell Bees on Sunday night, doing nothing to enhance their hopes of climbing off the bottom of the NIHL National standings.

But, as the team’s debut campaign stands at exactly the halfway mark, player-coach Zajac leads his team into today’s derby clash at Sheffield Steeldogs confident they can turn things around by snapping a four-game losing streak.

With 26 games remaining, the Chiefs are 12 points adrift of the playoff places and while the gap is slowly growing bigger than he would like, Zajac believes there is more than enough time to still make the top eight.

“There is quite a gap opening up now but I spoke openly and honestly with the players on what was a long coach ride home on Sunday,” said Zajac.

“It’s probably the biggest challenge I’ve faced as a coach, but I said I’m not willing to write this season off. We’re only at the halfway point of the season and it can go either way.

“We can either fold the tent and be happy just to see the season out, or we can keep battling and fight all the way to the end to get ourselves that playoff spot.”

Zajac got the response he knew he would.

“The overwhelming response was to keep on fighting,” he added. “We’ve got a lot of character in that locker room and the guys were hurting on Sunday. We were embarrassed and that was the response I wanted to hear because I felt exactly the same, I was embarrassed.

“It was deflating losing like that and, at times, it felt like it was never going to end.

“But we’ve had time for it to sink in and let it sting - now it is time to get over it and get ourselves ready for this big derby game.”

Zajac acknowledged his short-benched, injury-hit team - who had performed so well in the previous night’s 4-2 loss to leaders Telford Tigers - simply ran out of gas in Bracknell, something he is hoping to address at Ice Sheffield tonight with the temporary addition of a forward and a defenceman to his roster.

He is also close to nailing down an import forward to succeed Radek Meidl, who departed with British forward James Archer last month.

Both led the way in terms of scoring, something Zajac admits the Chiefs have struggled to replace.

“It was frustrating on Sunday, I can’t deny it, but I understand that everyone was gassed, even I was knackered and dying by the end of it,” he added.

“It’s just not sustainable having so few players, but we’re hoping to have two guys come in on two-way deals to help us out.

“We’re close to bringing in an import which should help us out a lot as scoring has become the issue since we lost Radek and Arch.”

Zajac is also hoping that a final visit of the regular season to South Yorkshire might provide the ideal scenario his team to bounce back from Sunday’s dismal showing.

“This is the ideal game for us to have on the schedule after what happened on Sunday in Bracknell,” he said.

“Being so short-benched and having so many games in quick succession is tough but this is the kind of game where we’ll have added motivation and should be up for it,.

“It has come exactly at the right time for us, so soon after, because we need a bounce-back performance.”