NEWS: Morgan expects building work to continue against Fife

Aspray Glasgow West sponsored Glasgow Clan coach Jason Morgan insists there is much to build on for his team as they prepare for their Challenge Cup opener.

A tough test awaits in Scottish rivals Fife Flyers, who visit Braehead Arena on Saturday (face off 7:00pm) in the first competitive game of the season.

And while Morgan admits to being pleasantly surprised at how quickly his team are knitting together, he’s taking nothing for granted.

“We’re excited to kick the weekend series off at home, but we’re looking for the guys to build on from their performance in Belfast and keep working on our game,” he said.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well the team have come together in a relatively short space of time, but the aim of the recruitment was about character, leadership and become a family first and we’ve done that well.

“It’s a really good foundation to build from and there were definitely a lot of positives to take from all four games in pre-season.  Now the real stuff starts in going for some hardware.

“We had the choice to play games against teams from other countries or different teams in our league, but we thought it would be a good measuring stick against the higher quality teams here.

“I thought the guys handled themselves really well, but I think we’re gelling as a group and we’ll continue to do that with more games under us.”

Morgan revealed it wasn’t the first time he’s come up against the Kirkcaldy side and has been briefed on what kind of atmosphere to expect.

But he also knows it won’t be a walk in the park with two Challenge Cup points up for grabs against a team who reached the final of this competition last season.

He added: “Fife have had some change too so it will be interesting to see how both teams line up against each other, but for most of our guys, it’s a test in a Challenge Cup game that will mean something.

“I actually had the opportunity to coach in Fife when I was with Aalborg Pirates in Denmark in 2018, but I’ve heard this rivalry is going to be a bit more heated.

“Our guys are excited and know it will be a hard-fought battle. It’s one where we hope to give a good performance too.”

Photos by Al Goold