AARON Nell insists Swindon Wildcats’ true form will be revealed this weekend when hosting London Raiders on home ice tomorrow before travelling to Cambridgeshire on Sunday to face arch rivals Peterborough Phantoms.

The Phantoms left Wiltshire with two points in their pocket last weekend after downing a below-par Wildcats side 2-4 at the Link Centre courtesy of goals from Corey McEwen, Ales Padelek and Tom Norton.

Nell’s troops quickly put their home disappointment behind them though when beating Streatham 2-6 on Sunday, but both results have handed Peterborough the advantage in the race to land the NIHL South One title.

Admitting that Peterborough sit in pole position as both teams approach their 20th games of the campaign, Nell said Wildcats must bring their best game to the ice this weekend to prove last weekend was just a blip.

He said: “We’ll find out this weekend if last week was a blip. If a loss in that manner happens every six or seven weeks, then it’s a blip.

“But if we play like that once every couple of weeks then it isn’t.

“It’s now about how we react – just because we won on Sunday doesn’t mean we’ve made up for last Saturday night.

“We need to have a good weekend.

“Right now, Peterborough are in the best spot – they’ve dropped the least points and are flying.

“We need to bring our best game, hopefully that will keep us close with the top bunch.

“Peterborough is a tough rink to play in and Sunday will be a good game.”

Wildcats’ demanding fixture list continues through December as they prepare for eight fixtures between now and the new year.

The festive season brings a boom period to the sport with crowds expected to be at a high throughout the month.

And Nell hopes that his players can reward the club’s loyal fans with a positive run of results and performances in the concluding weeks of the year.

He said: “Raiders will arrive with plenty of confidence (tomorrow) after a big win at Invicta on Sunday.

“What we need to do is be a lot better at home than we were last week and make up for that performance (against Peterborough) on Saturday night.

“Everyone saw that there was a bit of pressure on us, and we knew we had to win that game.

“When one of our top players in Max (Birbraer) nets a hat-trick in the first period it’s great to see – he had a great game.

“Christmas is normally busy, and after Christmas things pick up.

“We’ve got the teddy bear toss when we play Invicta next Saturday, and our crowds have been great this year – it’s about trying to keep them going.

“Hopefully we can play some good hockey for them to support.”