Sheffield Steelers: Aaron Fox and Carter Beston-Will sign new three-year deal to remain as coaches

It follows the new seven-year Arena tenancy arrangement inked between Steelers and Sheffield Council, earlier this week.

The developments have given rise to a new sense of stability and forward planning which can now lead the club on to better things on and off the ice.

Head coach Fox, 45, said he was delighted with his personal deal and said of his era in charge on the bench: "It has been a great situation for me and my family.

"Ownership gives me the tools to put us in a competitive team every year and hopefully compete for trophies. It's a great organisation, great fan base,there is not much more than I can ask for."

Fox said his right-hand-man Beston-Will, 23, brings a lot to the table.

"He currently does our Penalty Kill meetings, does a ton of pre-scout for me, runs the 'D' during games, just a lot of day-to-day stuff.

"From a video perspective he will round up throughout the week and get it to me so I can put a game plan together against each team."

While there will be no specific three-year target for the coaching staff, the longevity of the deal should be helpful for players and management alike.

"We try to put a core group of guys together that you feel you can win with and then build around those key components.

"I feel like we have got some good young talent coming through the organisation right now, we were able to bring back some core guys from that 2019-20 year that we had some success with" Fox said.

That youthful talent includes the likes of Sam Jones, Alex Graham, Cole Shudra, Brandon Whistle and Curtis Warburton.

The team's long term goal year-to-year would always be to lift silverware, he said.

"In 2018-19, before I came in, we were a seventh-placed team, (the side was coached first by Paul Thompson and then Tom Barrasso.)

"I don't think they made the Play Off semi-final or the Cup semi-final" he said.

"We put ourselves in the position where we won one trophy in the 19-20 season, we obviously lost in the Challenge Cup this year and with 10 games to go we are right there for a league title."

Fox said it had been his stated aim from the start to be competing for trophies.

"Hopefully we will get it done this year" he said, while acknowledging "it is a process."

As for his wife and daughter, the American said: "We are full time residents we don't go anywhere in the summer, my kid goes to school (in Sheffield.)

"My family has always chased me around Europe and now we have been here for three years they have got friends, they've got a personal life ...it gives them a bit of stability."