IT'S almost like Ryan Finnerty has never been away.

The Braehead Clan coach touched back down in Scotland late on Friday as the Glasgow club begin their preparations for the new season, which officially starts in a little over two weeks.

The Canadian spent the summer based at his home in Victoria, British Colombia where his wheeling and dealing has helped construct an ice-hockey team he believes Braehead fans can be proud of next season.

Finnerty is aware of the tough challenges ahead in a clearly stronger league - particularly among the Scottish clubs - yet the former Sheffield Steelers coach admits it's good to be back at the coal-face.

He said: "It was a long summer but I'm happy to be here and try and get over the jetlag as quickly as possible.

"I may have been on the other side of the pond but it was still productive."

He said he and Gareth Chalmers, Clan operations director, had been working closely: "We were in touch a lot via email and phonecalls.

"The seven-hour time difference can delay things but it's a lot easier for me to call guys in Canada and the US to see if they are interested in playing for us."

Recruiting imports for Braehead's Elite League push next year was the primary objective for Finnerty, who had already spoken to his British signing before he departed for Canada.

But he admits replacing Ed McGrane, a fans' favourite of last season, was a massive and unexpected headache in his pre-season planning.

It is understood the star's family preferred to settle in North America rather than Scotland.

But Finner has faith in new signing Matt Keith, who iced in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Islanders, to be an even bigger hit at the Braehaed Arena next season than McGrane was last time out.

He said: "We had a lot of our British guys signed up before I left so it was good to try to find some fresh faces.We know what we are going to get with guys like Stefan Meyer and Leigh Salters as we have seen them in the league here in the UK.

"But it was also a difficult summer as we had to replace Ed McGrane, who was probably one of the guys I was least worried about leaving.

"That's going to be a huge hole in our line-up, both on the ice and off of it. He was a hugely respected guy.

"But we have got to move on. We signed Matt Keith to kind of take over that role as No.1 centre and he comes with a good pedigree.

"We look forward to him arriving and coaching him, he will be a special player for us.

"I'm excited for next year, a lot of teams look good on paper but we think we have a good mix here for next season."

PART TWO OF RYAN'S INTERVIEW IS IN TOMORROW'S SPORTTIMES