GLASGOW Clan forward Matt Haywood says he was always confident the organisation would be fine despite the situation regarding Braehead Arena earlier this summer.

The 31-year-old spoke ahead of the club’s first game in almost 20 months when they play Solway Sharks in an exhibition game at Dumfries Ice Bowl on Wednesday.

And Haywood admits, despite knowing the possibility of seeing the organisation go out of business, he had a feeling it would work out okay.

“It was obviously serious situation and I first heard about it when I was with Manchester Storm in the Elite Series back in April and it was concerning,” he said.

“But there was something in my mind that kept telling me this wasn’t the end.  I feel like, in my head, that it couldn’t happen.  It’s such a good club and such a good fan base.

“I couldn’t quite believe it and it was a matter of just waiting and being told everything was going to be okay.

“It never really crossed my mind that it would spell the end of the Clan.  Of course, it was a possibility, but in my head, I just never thought that way at all.

“In all honesty, I never saw myself signing anywhere else.  I’ve been here since day one so I had no desire to move on elsewhere.”

Haywood and his Clan team-mates have been training hard in the last couple of weeks, with their league opener coming on Sunday when they travel to face Belfast Giants.

He revealed coach Malcolm Cameron has been gradually working the players harder and harder, but the mood is positive as they prepare to be reunited with fans again.

“Malcolm’s training has built over time and it’s become much more technical in the last few days,” Haywood added. 

“The first few sessions was about getting us up to speed, but we’ve been working on systems more and Wednesday will be a good test for us before Sunday.

“It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time plus it’s good that fans are going to be there to cheer us on.

“I’m hoping to get that game sharpness against Solway and be familiar with the situations you can only get in game situations.

“It’s going to be a good atmosphere with all the fans coming and I hope it’ll be a decent game and give us a good look at the team we have.”