SWINDON Wildcats head coach Stevie Lyle is demanding more from his players despite hailing his team’s best 60 minute performance this season.

Lyle’s side secured a 5-3 victory over a short-benched Manchester Phoenix side at the Link Centre tonight but gave an early warning to some of his players.

Without naming names, Lyle said that his side were still 15 per cent below where they should be and expects a response tomorrow when they travel to Guildford Flames.

The net-minder, who is in his first year in coaching, is clearly not afraid of making changes to his roster if he feels they are needed, after stating that there are players out of jobs who would want to take their places.

“I think we have still got a bit more to come from a couple of guys,” said Lyle.

“I am not going to name any names, but we haven’t hit our top potential yet as far as I am concerned.

“It is still early on and I am not pushing the panic button or threatening any jobs right now, but I think we are still 80 or 85 per cent of what I know we have got in that locker room.

“There are guys out there who are still looking for hockey jobs and these guys have got to realise that.

“They are not coming over here and having a little holiday and seeing a bit of London and so on.

“I am hoping tomorrow night and, it won’t be forgotten about, but at least it is a step forward.”

Matt Selby put the hosts in front in the latter stages of the first period before Ben Wood cancelled that out in the dying seconds.

Nico Aaltonen caught Swindon napping at the start of the second period before Aaron Nell hauled the hosts back level four minutes later.

Swindon were back in the lead through Corey McEwen’s first goal at the Link Centre, before Michael Stratford extended the hosts lead before the end of the second period.

Tomasz Malasinski gave Swindon a good cushion four minutes into the third period and it proved enough to start the weekend with two points, despite a late strike from James Archer.

“They still had four imports out there, but they were missing their main guy Gron (captain Stanislav Gron) - I think he has broken a bone in his foot - so that was a big plus for us.

“They still come out and played a solid road game and it was just about us sticking to our systems and trying to break them down, because we knew eventually they would get tired out.

“I think we stuck to the game plan.

“We have still got stuff to work on. I think we gave away three or four breakaways which we can’t be doing and we are being scored against at the wrong times.

“That is going to kill us down the road.

“We’ve got a big game coming up now tomorrow. We forget about tonight, but all in all I think we had our best sixty minutes this season.”