Telford Tigers still in the hunt says coach Tom Watkins

The team has racked up 14 consecutive defeats with a mumps epidemic sidelining much of the squad during December.

Sunday's loss was typical of that losing streak, as Watkins' young side came up short against a vastly more experienced Guildford set-up.

Their last win was against Manchester at the start of November, but the Tigers supremo is confident his team can make an unlikely comeback.

He said: "It was a good performance against a very good side and I don't want to say we deserved to win, as we are not scoring enough, which a bit of an Achilles heel for us.

"We have brought in guys to add offence, but it doesn't just fall to them.

"We have a lot of players who I see scoring in practice and making good plays. We need to do that in games and spread the load.

"In 2013 we will give it our all and I still believe we're not out of the play-offs. We have a lot of bodies out of the line-up and hopefully some of that firepower still start to kick in over the next few weeks. There is a lot of confidence in that dressing room and guys are playing for their jobs."

Telford face an inevitable struggle to reach the end-of-season tournament, with 17 points separating them from eighth-placed Peterborough.

But with the Tigers having a number of games in hand – and the Phantoms due to visit the ice rink tomorrow – the county men can look forward to a string of four-point encounters.

Tom Soar was the scorer for Telford on Sunday, while Adam Taylor and Elliot Knell were on the mark during Saturday's 7-2 loss at Bracknell Bees.

Wednesday's visit of Peterborough Phantoms faces off at 8pm.