Coventry Blaze coach Paul Thompson up for survival fight

[dutchman]

Coventry Blaze coach Paul Thompson says he will fight for the survival of the cash-strapped ice hockey club.



The failure of sponsorship money to be paid and falling attendances at the Skydome are being blamed for Blaze's current financial problems.

"Over my dead body are we going to let this thing slip away. We're going to fight it all the way," Thompson told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire.

"I've never felt so up for a challenge in my life."

The head coach has guided Blaze to four Elite League titles since the club relocated to Coventry in 2000.

But despite the success some supporters are staying away from home games this season, with a 25% fall in average gates.

And Thompson is appealing to those who have not been attending to return.

"I don't want them to feel on a guilt trip. I just want everyone to understand what [success] we brought to this area and we want to continue with that," he added.

"If we can get through the next month and get our gates back up, we'll sort out our cash flow and make our adjustments within our business to make sure that we get through."