BLACKBURN Hawks missed the chance to move off the foot of the English National Ice Hockey League table following a 3-2 defeat away to fellow strugglers Newcastle Vipers.

Hawks have now gone 10 league games without a win and have a real battle on their hands to avoid the drop.

General manager Andy Slater said: “On paper, we should have won, but for some reason the lads just aren’t performing at the moment.

“The forwards weren’t working both ends of the ice, the passing was poor and there was a real lack of effort.

“You’ve got to put the work in to come away with a win at this level and we never did that on Saturday.

“The players have blamed the netminder, so we’ve brought in a new netminder.

“They’ve blamed the head coach and so we’ve brought in a new head coach.

“I think it’s now time that some players have a good hard look at themselves and question whether they’ve got the determination to turn things around.

“At times like this, you need players who are prepared to give their all, and if they really put their minds to it, I know they are capable of getting this season back on track.

“Mr Abel (the new head coach) is not a happy bunny.

“Over the next couple of weeks he is going to assess the state of play and I know for a fact that he won’t be afraid to make changes if he feels they are necessary.”

After a goalless first period, Hawks opened the scoring when Aaron Davies fired a fine shot past the Newcastle netminder from just inside the blue line.

However, the hosts responded well and levelled the scores at the end of the second period with a well-worked goal from a powerplay.

Two goals without reply saw the north-east side race into a 3-1 lead, with Chad Briggs’ late strike nothing more than a consolation.

Hawks, who haven't tasted success in the league since the opening weekend of the season, will have it all to do when they visit league leaders Nottingham this coming Sunday.