SWINDON Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell is looking to get the feel good factor going at the club after a disappointing start to the season.

The Link Centre side saw both their opening matches of the new National League South One go to over-time despite high hopes of a four-point weekend.

However, while the Wildcats required penalties to see off Milton Keynes Thunder, the trip to Gillingham to face Invicta Dynamos ended with a disappointing 3-2 defeat.

As Swindon come up against some familiar foes in the National League Cup this weekend, starting with Basingstoke Bison this evening at the Link Centre before making the trip to Telford Tigers tomorrow, Nell is looking forward to the challenge.

“It will be fun to play Basingstoke on Saturday night,” the player-coach said.

“It is going to be a fast game and they will be going at us a lot more than the teams of the past weekend were and I think that is going to be good for us.

“It’s a break in league fixtures and a different competition but we are not bothered.

“We are just taking every game as it comes and every game is as important as each other.

“We have got a really tough group in the cup and we need to get off to a good start this weekend.

“We need to get a good feeling going - we had two frustrating performances at the weekend.

“We need to start feeling good about ourselves and to do that, you need to work hard and that’s when good results will come.

“We know we have got to be better than we were last weekend because it’s going to be two really tough games.”

As well as being the Wildcats first competitive games in the new league last weekend, it was Nell’s first meaningful action since last October when a dislocated shoulder brought his campaign to a premature end.

“Last weekend’s games were my first competitive matches in a long time,” he said.

“There were no nerves but it’s just about that match fitness. I haven’t played in a long time and it’s just getting used to it again.

“It’s going to take another couple of weeks to get to where I want to be and there are going to be times when I will be frustrated but it’s about working hard like everyone else and improving every day.”