SWINDON Wildcats captain Jan Kostal has called on his side to stay focussed for the full 60 minutes when they come up against the so-called lesser teams of NIHL South One.

The Link Centre outfit, who entertain Invicta Dynamos tomorrow, have suffered two defeats to sides who plyed their trade at this level last term - including one to Saturday’s visitors.

They have also been pushed all the way on several occasions to only win by one goal, or like against bottom side Cardiff Fire, required a huge push in the dying stages of the match to give the scoreline a flattering look.

Yet in stark contrast, the Cats’ record against teams they faced last year in the now defunct English Premier League has been superb, with only Peterborough Phantoms lowering the colours of Aaron Nell’s side.

With Invicta hoping for a repeat of the 2-1 win they recorded in Gillingham at the start of the season this weekend, Kostal says that his side cannot afford any lapses in concentration.

“We play really good against the top teams but we are struggling a little bit against the lower teams,” Kostal said.

“I think we need to find some motivation. We need to be better in the games against the lower teams.

“I think we need to be more straight to the net, we need to have more shots - be more direct.

“We need to put more pressure on these teams, don’t have a break during the game. We need to have these teams under pressure – that is very important.”

The former Czech Republic international, who scored twice last weekend, added: “I think sometimes in the game, we have 20 minutes good and then for 10 minutes we are struggling.

“We are maybe thinking that it might be an easy game. Sometimes we need to ready in these parts of the games, stick together and play good D and then start applying the pressure and play better hockey against these teams.”

After tomorrow’s league clash with Invicta, the Cats head to Shropshire in Pool D of the NIHL Cup to face Telford Tigers for the sixth time this season looking to defend their unbeaten record.

And Kostal wants the Cats to try to replicate their cup form in the league where they lie fourth, having lost four of their 11 matches.

The 37-year-old said: “We need to put these (cup) games into our league games. We need to have the same hunger to win in the league that we have in the cups.”