IMPORT Max Birbraer says he and his Swindon Wildcats teammates need to be a full tilt for the rest of the season if they are going to have a chance at winning the league title this year.

Currently the Cats sit third behind Peterborough Phantoms and Basingstoke Bison in the standings and following a costly 5-4 penalty shot defeat to London Raiders on Wednesday night, the 36-year-old says there is no room for error in their remaining games.

Birbraer also says he relishes the pressure towards the end of the season, with the Cats currently in contention across three competitions.

“We need to win our last nine games, we don’t need any extra motivation for Saturday to be honest,” he said.

“We were in a great position and we thought we could maybe afford to drop a point, but we didn’t think that point would be on Wednesday – we were going for two in that game.

“We know what the (Basingstoke) game means. Basingstoke are one of the two teams that we are chasing, if we lose then it will be impossible to win the league, unless some miracles happen.

“Every league and cup game from now until the end of the season is crucial and for me personally, I love it.

“Playing in November against some of the lower-end teams, you don’t bring your A-game and it’s hard to be motivated.

“We can’t just look at it as the next game, we have to win out for the rest of the season – it’s do or die.

“I love these must-win games, they are so exciting and you don’t need to get yourself going, you don’t even have to have an extra cup of coffee.

“Just thinking about the game should be enough to elevate your game to the highest level – less than maximum just won’t be good enough.”

With skipper Jan Kostal currently out of action with injury which he picked up in Cats’ 8-3 win over Streatham a week ago, Birbraer is the club’s only remaining import.

However, the 36-year-old has reiterated to his teammates that while losing Kostal is definitely a blow, it is not an excuse to underperform.

“We can talk about missing a guy or two, but at the end of the day we will have to just keep on rolling,” said Birbraer, who notched in Wednesday’s defeat.

“The easy way out is to use the fact Jan is out as an excuse but at the moment you have to overcome every obstacle.

“We still have a chance, we need to grab it and play with a nothing to lose attitude. Teams who play with that attitude are dangerous.

“There is no uncertainty, we need to win every game and put everything on the line.

“If you bring it and lose, you can say you did everything. If you give it everything you’ve got, what is there to be afraid of?”

After hosting Basingstoke tomorrow evening, the Cats will hit the road and travel to Bracknell a day later to take on the Bees.