The new Bermuda Hogges season will see a change in the way the management of the club is structured.

Paul Scope, the co-owner, is to take more of a back seat with the playing side and concentrate on developing the club as a business.

The Hogges play in a league where the majority of the franchises opperate on a professional basis, and in their second season the club are hoping to bring their structure into line with the teams around them.

"It's about having and creating a professional structure, and putting that in place," said Scope. "All the other teams have paid-staff, and we have volunteers because we simply can't afford to pay people.

"It would cost us four-times as much to have an assistant here as in the States.

"We have lots of volunteers who help out, but they do so in their own spare time, and it needs someone to oversee it all.

"But, having said that, a lot of what we did last year was one-time set-up stuff that we don't need to do again because it is already in place. And the time and energy that went into that has already been spent.

"I'll be concentrating more on the business side this year. Now that Shaun (Goater) and Kyle (Lightbourne) are no longer playing, there isn't the same need that there was to have me as assistant coach.

"Last year it made sense for me to be an assistant because Shaun was a player-coach, I was taking some of the training sessions, and you need the continuity all the way through.

"But with Shaun and Kyle not playing this time around, it was a better use of all our time and skills if they concentrate on the playing side, and I concentrate on the business.

"I'll still have an input on that side of things, like I'm sure they will on the business side, but I won't actively be involved on a daily basis."

As with any business it takes time to build a solid base. With football teams, the fans and community are an essential part of that base, and it's something that Scope wants to build on.

"What we're hoping to build on is the fan base and the commitment from the fans to the side," he said.

"We want to build up the crowd, and that in turn will build up the club and the team. It's a business, and we're trying to develop something."

The Hogges had a topsy-turvey first season, struggling at the start, but finishing strongly.

"We have to be realistic about our expectations for the season," said Scope. "In the first nine games last year we only got one-point, and then we got 14 from the second half of the season.

"If we had replicated our form in the second, to the first, we would have finished mid-table. But it isn't as simple as that.

"Two sides who we took –10 points off last year, the New Hampshire Fountains, and the Cincinatti Kings aren't around any more.

"You could say our goal is mid-table this year, and the play-offs next year, but finishing off the bottom would be a good start."