Fife Flyers: we will repay loyalty of fans with new ethos says commercial chief

It’s the calm after the most turbulent of storms engulfed the team, and left many fearing for its immediate future.

Having spent several months dealing relentlessly with crisis after crisis, the management team is drawing a clear line in the sand.

“Reset is not just a word,” said John Brown, head of commercial. “It is very real. We don’t want to dwell on the last 12 months. Everyone knows the issues and people understand what happened. For us it is time to move on.”

But he stressed: “It is time for us to deliver action rather than words.”

At the play-off finals at Nottingham, he found himself in an impromptu Q&A with fans over a beer - supporters who had stuck with the team when everything imploded, and still turned out in huge numbers for the closing game of the season.

“They told me how much this team means to them,” he said. “There were questions and criticisms, but it was uplifting how much they care.

“At the last home game of season, I was standing with Stephen Thomson (chief operating officer), the clock was winding down to the last few seconds, and the atmosphere was incredible. I said ‘we’re a last placed team - imagine if we were pushing for the play-offs!’

“The loyalty of the fans, their dedication is incredible. It is our dream and aim to repay that loyalty.”

That work is already underway. The ownership group, based in North America, has stepped up the plate following the removal of Tom Avery, and the whole structure of the club overhauled.

“We 100% have the right people in the right roles,” said John. “There was a lot that went wrong last season, and the ownership group went through some tough times. There have been some very harsh and honest conversations.

“It has aligned since March as we made the operational changes which were needed. Everyone knows their jobs. The way the club is run is changing. That includes how we make decisions, how money moves around. It has changed from the day I joined in February.

“What you see on the ice will be a mirror of how Fife Flyers are being run.”

The reset runs much deeper than just a pledge.

New players will be sent an information pack which spells out the club’s ethos.

“It will show them Fife - this is who we are, this is where you will be living, this is where you will be playing,” said John. “We will have players here for the right reasons. They will be here because they understand what it means to play for Flyers, they will understand the team, its history and its values.”

The club is working closely with Fife Chamber of Commerce and speaking to the region’s other professional sports teams about ways of working together, while it wants players more engaged in the community.

As many as five new signings could be unveiled in the next few weeks, underlining the scale of change with new head coach and GM, Tim Wallace at the helm.

There will be returnees - Flyers have learned how hard it can be to get a team wholly filled with newcomers to gel from the puck drop - but the winds of change are blowing through the dressing-room.

“There will be a turnaround in the dressing room,” said John. “This is a reset with a new coach and new ownership structure,.and a new philosophy, so those changes have to follow on to the ice.”

Wallace is fully immersed in UK hockey after spells coaching at Nottingham and Milton Keynes,as well as playing in the top flight after an NHL career of just over 100 games. His appointment is key to the club’s ambitions.

“It was not just the case of who has the best hockey CV, it was 100 per cent who is the best fit for our philosophy. Tim ticked every box.

“We wanted the right person for the job and, no question, Tim understands this league, and he wanted the job - he wants to be here for the right reasons.

“And we see additions such as Reece Kelly as a statement signing. Bringing someone back to Fife, signing someone from Sheffield Steelers, that’s a statement. That says more about who we are and where we want to be, and takes us back to actions speaking louder than words.”

With season tickets due to be launched and sponsorship packages in the process of being overhauled, there is a huge raft of work going on during the long summer off-season.

“It is most important that we look after our sponsors. We get incredible support from Scott Gibson, Alan Wallace at Pettycur, Specsavers and Flexcon to mention just a few, and my role is to bring in more,” said John. “There were things which prevented me from reaching out more to our business community but these barriers have been removed, and we need to grow our sponsorship opportunities.”

A winning team - and one that is skating free from the pressures of last season which hammered all hopes of progress - can only help in that quest.

Action rather than words - and Flyers’ commercial chief is convinced the club has the leadership to deliver with Wallace at the helm, and the return of Hunt, the defacto leader in the dressing-room last season.

He only headed home this month having studied for his coaching exams and also playing in the NHL Alumni games at Murrayfield. It will be the shortest of summers in North America before returning to Fife.

“I have been in sport for 15 years, and I have worked with some huge leaders - guys like Graeme Souness, Martin O’Neill and Harry Redknapp,” said John.

“Thre is no-one I have met who is more impressive than Garet Hunt. The guy oozes leadership.

He loves this town and the people. He loves Scotland and has really bought into the country and the community here.

“He is an incredible person - and his family are all Flyers’ fans now!”