SWINDON Wildcats have moved to strengthen their defensive options with the signing of Czech man-mountain Tomas Fojtik.

The Link Centre side have suffered a string of injuries at the back in recent weeks, but the arrival of the 6ft 5 inch D-man from Telford will go a long way towards solving the problems.

Cats coach Ryan Aldridge was interested in Fojtik during his time with Basingstoke, which ended a few weeks into this season, and after a brief stint at Telford came to an end he was quick to pounce for the 28-year-old.

“He started the season at Basingstoke but left there, and I tried to sign him then but he had already committed to Telford,” he said.

“But we have kept an eye on him and now he wants to come here, which is great for us.

“He is a big, big man who will add some toughness and experience into our D, which has been an area which needs to be strengthened.

“He is not just tall, he strong too and uses it well, so on our little rink he can hopefully use his size to the maximum effect.

“We can have five imports but only four can play, but with a few injuries right now so we can only play four, but the situation will have to be reviewed in the next couple of week.”

If all the paperwork is completed in time Fojtik will make his Cats debut against former club Telford tomorrow night, but Aldridge wants his new man to rediscover the form he showed with Basingstoke, rather than the Tigers.

“During his last weekend at Basingstoke he played really well, and that is why we tried to get him then,” he said.

“But we have spelled out to him how we want him to play, and he needs to keep doing what he was doing for Basingstoke, and if he does we will be getting a solid hockey player.

“He is very professional, and even when he played for Basingstoke against us he knew we were interested, and still played well.

“I am not sure he will be too worried about Telford, and he will just want to go out there and score points for his new team.”