SWINDON Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell hopes to put a turbulent two weeks to the back of his mind this weekend when facing NIHL South One rivals Bracknell Bees in a weekend double header.

Despite defeating Invicta Dynamo 5-0 on home ice on Saturday, Wildcats have won just two of their opening six fixtures in December while losing out to title rivals Peterborough Phantoms twice.

Such results have consequently loosened Wildcats’ grasp on a spot at the top of the table, with the Phantoms now leading the way with 36 points from 20 games – three points more than Swindon, who have played two more games.

Wildcats’ poor form makes both ties against Bracknell this weekend crucial for Nell, who insists continuity is key to his side’s chances of success following the absence of several players through injury in recent weeks.

“They are two massive games, both us and Bracknell are in similar situations and we want to try and get better after the last couple of weeks,” said Nell.

“Both games will be tough. The first thing we must make sure of is that we are at our best.

“The last couple of weeks have been frustrating, but we now need to go on a run. And there is no better time to start a run than when we’re playing the top teams.

“Every game now from here until the end of the season will be big games for us, we’ve got to approach a game-by-game mentality and make sure we are at our best.

“If we are, then we will get success.

“We need some continuity, we’ve had players coming in and out of the line up for a while.

“What we need to do is make sure we stick together and push in the same direction.

“These games are good games to get your teeth into and enjoy.

“If we play hard then we will be successful.”

Wildcats still have four weeks to wait until their one-week break in mid-January, the club’s only two-week gap in fixtures throughout the entire season.

Accepting that playing two games each weekend is tough on the body, Nell underlined the fact that all teams are in the same boat – stressing that fitness cannot be used as an excuse for his side’s troubled results of late.

With a clean bill of health reported for this weekend, the 29-year-old believes Wildcats’ strength in depth squad will help in the run up to Christmas.

He said: “Every team is in the same spot. We’ve played a lot of games and we’re used to playing lots of games.

“We’ve got a big squad too – this time of the year is the fun time and we’ve got four huge games coming up against the three top teams.

“These are the games you want to be a part of.”