Coach Hay to leave Muirhead's rink

Former world champion Hay has worked with the squad of Muirhead, Anna Sloan, Vicki Adams and Sarah Reid for the past four years – helping them to seven World and European Championship medals and Olympic bronze during that time.

However, they failed to makes the semi-finals of the recent World Championships in Canada after losing four of their 11 round-robin games.

The decision comes less than two years out from the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang but is part of a major overhaul of the rink with Reid also set to be replaced.

Reid originally came into the team for Claire Hamilton back in 2014 and although Muirhead and co will consider their options over the next month, the 26-year-old concedes that things will be very different without Hay and Reid.

"We must say a heartfelt thank you to both Sarah and Dave who have given so much of themselves to the team and we take that contribution with us," said Muirhead.

"It's been a total pleasure working with Sarah for the last two seasons and she has brought a lot to the team.

"We consider her a great friend and a great curler and wish her the very best for whatever she decides to do next.

"No longer working with Dave is going to be a real shake-up for us as a team as he has been our coach for the last four years.

"He is a fantastic coach and has been an inspiring and committed member of our team for the last four years."

Sportsbeat 2016