“I hate to lose” – that’s the battlecry from Telford Tigers player-coach Tom Watkins after his side sank to the bottom of the English Premier League with defeats to Bracknell Bees and Milton Keynes Lightning.

The Tigers narrowly missed out on a point at home to Bracknell on Saturday, when two late goals from the visitors cancelled out a one-goal advantage at the start of the third period, handed to Tigers by Luke Brittle and Watkins.

And on Sunday, the Tigers found themselves just 2-1 down at the start of the final 20 minutes, before four unanswered goals sealed the win for Milton Keynes.

Those defeats have left Telford at risk of being cut adrift at the bottom of the EPL standings, but Watkins believes his side are still fighting to claim the final play-off spot.

“Every time hockey players strap on their pads, they are there to win,” he said.

“It is very disappointing, but I understand the reasons why we are losing. The guys just need to keep on battling away.”

“I hate to lose.”

Watkins was especially disappointed by the manner of Saturday night’s defeat, a game which he thought could have produced at least a point.

“We had a chance to win on Saturday and we created a lot of chances and outshot them,” he added.

“There were plenty of powerplay chances, so I make no bones about that defeat. It was down to the guys not getting the job done.”

On Sunday, a powerful Milton Keynes line-up found extra depth as Telford’s young squad tired after Josh Bruce’s first period goal.

“We ran out of gas,” Watkins said.

“We are short on bodies and have a young squad. We don’t have the same top-end quality and that makes a difference.

“On Sunday we gave up four or five rebound goals, so they are not good goals. They got guys into the right areas and took their chances.”

Telford now have a short break from EPL action, with a match against the Great Britain under-20s side – coached by Watkins – on Thursday evening (8pm).