Braehead Clan forward Brendan Brooks has backed the decision of Head Coach Ryan Finnerty to trade Chris Bruton for Neil Trimm.

The move took place on Thursday ahead of the weekend’s games and Trimm, who played at the club for the last two seasons, is expected to make his return against Nottingham Panthers on Saturday.

Brooks is now looking forward to linking up with Trimm after hearing positive testimonials from his teammates about him.

He said: “It’s always sad when something like this happens, but it’s a decision the coach and management had to make and it needed to be done.

“We all back Finner as a team. We’ve got a new guy coming in and I’ve heard nothing but great things about Neil from when he played here before.

“I haven’t played with him, but there’s plenty of guys here that have and I know he’s been a top scorer and a great room guy and is easy to get along with.

“Chris was well liked by the fans so they’re going to be disappointed by this, but ‘Trimmer’ is coming in and I think it’ll be a good change and sometimes things like that can freshen things up.

“From what I know, he’s a regular scorer and something like that can make a difference when it comes to challenging for the league.

“He’s a big powerplay guy in this team and linked up well with Scott Pitt previously. We’re looking forward to having him.”

Brooks also looked ahead to Saturday’s trip to Nottingham who are a team Clan have yet to beat in any competition this season.

The Panthers knocked them out of the Challenge Cup just over a week ago in a game that’s still fresh in the memory and Brooks is keen to make amends.

He added: “It’s important we get to Nottingham and work hard and take it to them, the way they did to us at ours last week in the Challenge Cup.

“We have to come out strong and keep the pressure. The last meeting was probably one of our more weaker games and we’re looking to get that back.”

(Image permission: Al Goold Photo)