ALUN Rossiter believes that his Swindon Robins riders cannot allow themselves to waste time soul-searching and instead just ‘buck their ideas up’ after being upset by Leicester Lions on Thursday night.

Following back-to-back defeats at the hands of reigning champions Poole Pirates in the space of three days earlier this week, Rossiter’s troops returned to the Abbey Stadium hopeful of getting themselves back on an upward curve as they took on a side that had only previously registered a single Elite League victory to date this season.

But the Robins’ resurgence went horribly awry as the scorching form of guest Brady Kurtz and an impressive display from former Swindon man Nicolai Klindt inspired Leicester to upset the odds and condemn Rossiter’s men to a 47-43 loss – their third in a row.

The Robins team manager offered up few excuses and expects his septet, who are likely to be missing Rohan Tungate in the coming weeks after he exacerbated the shoulder injury he sustained in a clash with King’s Lynn Stars last month, to do the same as they prepare to renew hostilities with the Lions at Beaumont Park on Saturday.

“We just fell apart,” said Rossiter, whose team entered the week on the back of a six-meeting unbeaten run.

“Some of the middle-order boys are really struggling at the moment and I don’t know why – I can’t put anything on it or understand why.

“I think (Kurtz) was the difference, really. Apart from Nicolai, I don’t think there was much more in it, really.

“That’s life and we’ve got to get on with it and we’ve got to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves down pretty quick.

“Losing at home just makes life a lot harder and we’ve got to do a lot better.

“In the middle order; Josh (Grajczonek) was better tonight but Justin (Sedgmen) didn’t have the best night and Nick (Morris) wasn’t really on his best form.

“We’ve just got to dust ourselves down, we’ve got to have a good look in the mirror, and there’s no excuses.

“A couple of weeks ago, we were unbeatable and all of a sudden, we’re not unbeatable. I just don’t know where it’s all gone.

“We can’t go sitting around and feeling sorry for ourselves but we’ve certainly got to buck our ideas up – simple as that.”