Tomas Karpov hailed as Telford Tigers' saviour

The Czech playmaker was drafted in at the start of the year after American Patrick Greene broke his ankle.

Karpov has immediately become a fans' favourite, with the county men having won six games since he joined from his native country.

Watkins' presence as bench coach has, undoubtedly, had an effect on Telford's fortunes, but the Tigers supremo believes Karpov provides a missing link.

He said: "Tomas has come in and added a lot to the team. He gives us that first line centre and is a real go to player.

"He scores big goals, makes big plays and handles a lot of ice time. It has really improved our powerplay and a lot goes through him, but the entire first powerplay unit is important for us and carries a lot of weight."

Telford's 3-1 victory over Sheffield on Saturday featured strikes from Karpov, Scott McKenzie and Tim Burrows, as they gained revenge for a 6-3 loss in Sheffield the week before.

Sunday, meanwhile, saw Telford go down 4-2 to Slough Jets, with two goals from Karpov.

Those results offer further evidence of the Tigers'growing competitiveness, as the season draws to a close.

"You know what you're getting against Sheffield and it is always a battle," Watkins added.

"On Saturday, we won a lot of our battles and that made a big difference.

"It was a more physical game, like Bracknell the week before, but we played to a better level and it was more intense.

"Using our physical strength reaped its rewards and our forecheck was excellent."

Telford now have just two games left, starting with Saturday's visit of Manchester Phoenix, before a trip to Peterborough Phantoms on Sunday.

By James Shaw