PAUL Fleury has left Blackburn Hawks by "mutual agreement".

And the trouble-torn ice hockey club has also been rocked by news that key defenceman Neil Abel probably won't play again his year!

That double setback hits Hawks' plans both in the short and medium tern - this weekend they face a double home date with a challenge match against Manchester Storm followed by a vital clash with fellow strugglers Murrayfield in the Northern Premier League tomorrow.

Fleury, one of the longest-service players in the Hawks squad, skippered the side at the start of the campaign, but has now told coach Jim Pennycook that he can no longer devote enough time to the sport due to increasing work commitments.

"It's one of those things. Paul is a busy man, travelling all around the country on business and he came to us to say he couldn't continue to play for us due to the time involved.

"We are obviously sorry to lose him, but the matter has been resolved amicably and we fully understand his personal situation. Lately he hasn't been able to get to training which is a major drawback, particularly right now when we are trying to get the players together as often as possible to sort things out." Abel has been struggling in recent weeks with a back problem and has now been told to give it complete rest: "That's another body blow for Neil is very important to us, but we have no option but to follow the advice of the specialist and he reckons Neil could be out of action for at least three weeks."

Despite his mounting problems and the fact that Hawks have lost five games on the trot, Pennycook believe he still has a squad capable of turning the tide.

"This is a big weekend for us, particularly on Sunday when we desperately need to find a win from somewhere to lift players and fans alike.

"I am still confident that we can come through, but we need to stop the rot. The longer you go in a losing sequence the worse it gets and we can't afford to let our belief slip away.

"If we play to our best and get a rub of the green I believe we can take the game against Murrayfield and that could prove a turning point."

Bobby Haig will take over as skipper and both this weekend's Arena matches face-off at 6pm.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.