The Coventry Cassidy Jets' turbulent start to the 2009 season continued apace last week as the club announced that they had parted ways with Head Coach Jim Roberson by mutual consent. Roberson's reign lasted just one game, a 28-6 defeat in Zurich, for which he wasn't present due to family commitments. The Jets wasted no time in persuading Britbowl XXII Head Coach Gerry McManus out of retirement.
McManus' first reign in charge of the Jets lasted 5 years and featured 4 straight bowl appearances culminating in last season's pulsating National Title victory. After taking charge of his first training session since being back at the helm Mc Manus gave his overall assessment of the situation "There's an awful lot of work to do and very little time to do it. Bristol are just around the corner and they'll be desperate to take a shot at the Champions".
McManus continued "Things are progressing in the right direction and we got some valuable work done on offence. We need to ensure that we are ready to go to work on Sunday, we've not had much time to look at the defence or special teams but we're fortunate enough that we have a lot of experience and players that can adapt on the fly. You don't win Championships by accident, we've had a few set backs in the past but we've always pulled together and worked through them as a team, this situation is no different".
Coventry begin their domestic campaign this coming Sunday (10th of May) at Coventry Sphinx FC. The game kicks off at 14:30 and entrance is free for under 12s. Adults pay £3 or £5 for a family ticket which permits entrance to 2 adults and 3 children. The Coventry Telegraph have joined forces with the Jets and will be giving away a free family ticket to every reader later this week.
Another ray of light emerged for the Jets this week as the Prague Panthers swept aside the Zurich Renegades in the Czech Capital. The 39-21 victory means that a 27 point victory at the Slavia Athletics Stadium in just under a fortnight would be enough to send the Jets into an EFAF Cup Semi-Final with the Amsterdam Crusaders.