Disappointingly, our cup-run ended last Sunday when we lost the second leg in Manchester.

I want to write, however, about our game against Coventry the previous evening, if only to explain how the players felt about the turn of events that occurred during the second interval.

With Kevin Reiter back in goal we were confident that we could build on our away performance against Newcastle the previous week. We had decided to go with five defenders, allowing Corey LeClair to carry the puck forward from the back rather than playing him as a forward as we had tried the previous week. The defence could take the body more and have a little more time on the bench to recover between shifts.

I can't fault the players for effort but we're still giving up easy goals and not converting chances to score. But even at 4 - 1 down at the end of the second period we still felt we were in the game. That feeling disappeared during the interval when we were in the locker room.

Towards the end of the second period Coventry had hit the back of the net but this had been missed by the referee and the goal judge. After we had left the ice, the referee 'phoned the Elite league for advice on what action to take. I was informed of the decision to award the goal and restart play from the point in time when the goal should have been awarded.

Can you imagine how this was received in our locker-room? We'd left the ice. The second period was over. At 3 -1 or 4 -1 down we're still in the game. At 5 -1 the game is over. No-one in the locker room had ever experienced such a situation, at any level, in any league. We simply couldn't believe what had happened. Even today, looking back, it seems to me that this incident encapsulates the kind of season we've had to endure. And, of course, we're on a long losing run and fighting to turn the tide. I understand completely why the players reacted as they did.

The only positive I can draw is that the fans saw how passionate and committed we are to give of our best; we saw, too, the same committed passion from the fans, who understood how we were feeling.

Thank you for your support which has been one of the constant positive features of the year.

We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday