AARON Nell hopes returning to normality with two fixtures this weekend can inspire Swindon Wildcats to a timely NIHL double over two of the division’s big hitters.

Wildcats host in-form Basingstoke at the Link Centre on Saturday night (6.15pm) before travelling east on Sunday to face Peterborough Phantoms in a re-match of last weekend’s dramatic two-legged Autumn Cup tie, which Phantoms won by a single goal.

While playing six games in 10 days has taken its toll on the energy levels of Nell’s roster, the player-coach insists five days of rest will serve his troops well in the build to 13th and 14th league games of the season.

“This weekend is a big weekend for us,” said Nell.

“Basingstoke defeated us last week and they will want to prove that they can beat us on any night.

“It’s going to be a tough game at home on Saturday, Basingstoke are a team that work extremely hard and they play physical.

“It will be another good game on Saturday before we travel to Peterborough on Sunday.

“Peterborough are flying right now, they haven’t lost for a few weeks – and right now they look like the team to beat.

“We need to play our best two games again this weekend and need to make sure that we’ve used our recovery period well so we’re ready for two games.”

Mixed fortunes last weekend saw Wildcats lose on aggregate against the Phantoms in the Autumn Cup semi-final before a penalty shot win for Basingstoke just 24 hours later saw Nell’s men restricted to a point.

Winless Invicta Dynamos then came within minutes of securing their first league point of the season before Chris Jones struck a penalty shot to secure two points.

All three performances pleased Nell, who revealed scoring timely goals is an area he has identified for improvement ahead of their latest block of games.

“I was proud of how we played last weekend.

“It’s sometimes easier to play badly and lose, because you can accept that.

“But the way we played over the two legs against Peterborough was fantastic, we just couldn’t put the puck in the net.

“That’s something we’ve got to work on. Players were down, it was a big competition for us because we won it last season.

“But we need to bounce back from it. We’ve had a chance to recover and we’re on a clean slate this weekend.”