SWINDON Wildcats' season may only be two matches old but player-coach Aaron Nell has labelled tomorrow’s visit of Manchester Phoenix as 'must-win'.

The Link Centre side made a disastrous start to their English Premier League campaign as they fell to a 4-3 home defeat to Guildford Flames last Saturday before slumping to a 6-1 thrashing at Peterborough Phantoms.

Although Nell, who took up the coach’s reins midway through last season, insists there is no need to hit the panic button, the former Great Britain international says that the two defeats last weekend has made the next outing all the more important.

“Saturday against Manchester is a must-win game,” said Nell, who also takes his side to Hull Pirates on Sunday night.

“There is pressure on us now as we lost twice last weekend – that wasn’t part of the plan. Manchester is a must-win game – we can’t lose it.

“We will work hard in practice and be ready for Saturday.”

Having brought in a number of new faces over the summer, Nell believes the more time his Wildcats spend on the ice together, the better they will get.

“We are not a bad hockey team. People will think after Peterborough: ‘oh, they are not very good’, but we are not a bad hockey team,” the player-coach said.

“We are making some silly errors right now but that is what practice is for. We will get better, definitely. There is no panic here.

“It is about working hard and getting better, every time we are on the ice we need to get better.

“The only way that we can do that is hard work and that is everyone – me as a player, me as a coach, every single person on the team.

“If you think you are giving 100 per cent, we have to try give more – that is the only option that we have.”