MATT Foord admitted he was “very honoured and humbled” to be a Bracknell Bees player after writing his name into the record books, writes Dave Wright.

Foord became the club’s all-time leading appearance record holder when passing Matt Cote’s total of 408 at the weekend, reaching 409 in the game at Sheffield on Saturday night.

“I never thought I would break the record; absolutely not,” said Foord, who has also totted up more than 600 games in the England Premier League, while recently netting his 100th goal for Bees and the 200th in his career.

“I have played against Matt and what a player he was, so to be even mentioned in the same breath as him is incredible.”

Foord added: “I am just happy to have got to play for a club like Bracknell.
“When I first started out, I didn’t think I would ever get to have the experiences of meeting the people I have and playing for the teams I have.

“It is an overwhelming experience and I am very honoured and humbled to be part of Bracknell Bees.

“It is an honour to play for the club, an honour to play for the fans, an honour to play for the guys in the (changing) room. It is incredible to think I have played this amount of games. It is an honour.

“I still feel as good as I have ever been. I am in good shape, lead a fairly healthy lifestyle and I probably feel fitter than I did 10 years ago.”

Wycombe-born Foord, who learned ice hockey at Slough, has played in three different leagues for a number of clubs, but he is not expecting to add to his tally.

“My heart is with Bracknell; it has been since I joined,” said the father of two young children.

“I definitely want to stay here; I wouldn’t play for anyone else.

“I am happy here and would like to end my career here. I don’t think I will play anywhere else.”

Foord, however, does hope the cash-strapped Bees manage to sort out their financial problems which has led to players leaving and the current squad not being paid their wages on time.

While admitting the cash flow does affect the players off the ice, it is a different matter when they step into the rink.

“Yes, we are going through a difficult time, but the players we have will not quit,” the Bracknell captain told the News after Sunday’s 4-1 home defeat by title-chasing Peterborough Phantoms.

“We won’t give up week in week, week out. It is a testament to the whole team that we don’t give up. We will go to the end.”

Foord also remains optimistic about the club’s future.

“If we can hang on to some players and bring in a few young, hungry imports, you never know what might happen,” he continued.

“We need that never-quit mentality with a little bit of experience and maybe a little more quality.”

Meanwhile, the club’s directors confirmed that all monies owed to the current squad will be paid.

General manager Ben Beeching said: “We’ll ensure that the players are fully settled up financially; we are 100 per cent committed to this.

“While we’ve not been able to do it yet, there are enough income streams from the last couple of home gates and the considerable amounts of money we are working to recover from a few sources.

“Not only is it an obvious and moral observation, but recruitment for next season will obviously depend on it, making it an absolute priority.”

Beeching said he is hoping it won’t be long before and chairman Andrew Cross can give player-coach Lukas Smital the green light to start recruiting for next season.