Pressure is on at misfiring Sheffield Steelers

Boo and jeer...or get behind them even more?

Sheffield Steelers’ fans pay enough money to vent their feelings in which ever way they chose.

And you can’t blame those who booed for the second consecutive weekend in the home stands after defeats to Belfast Giants and, on Sunday, Fife Flyers.

But it won’t help a team as starved on confidence as much as it is thin on goalscoring expertise

And as frustrated as coaches Paul Thompson and Jerry Andersson undoubtedly are, they are now throwing a “protective blanket” around the side to see if confidence can be regained.

Thompson admits that there will be “finger-pointing” at him and Andersson after Sunday’s extraordinary inability to turn chances into goals, a failing that saw the team slither down the League into the unusual surrounds of fifth place.

That is what sport is all about, he says, philosophically.

But while he mourns the loss of that sharpness and creativity - one goal from 44 shots on Sunday- he knows he has to “re-build” the team and quickly before the League season slips further away.

Tuesday night sees some much-needed target practice.

Steelers should finish the job off against Dundee Stars in the Challenge Cup Quarter Final second leg; they lead 7-2 from the first.

Dundee are a team, at least, that Steelers can score against.

While the game seems a foregone conclusion it is not just the score that will that will be of interest to those fans.

They will want to see whether the swagger and decisiveness in front of goal is showing signs of meaningful recovery.

If not - expect the pressure to ramp up even more on everyone at Sheffield Steelers ice hockey club.