TRS Telford Tigers end season on a high
TRS Telford Tigers coach Tom Watkins insisted "the hard work starts now" after his side ended the EPL season with victories over Bracknell Bees and Manchester Phoenix.
The Tigers signed out with a 5-2 success over the Berkshire outfit on Saturday night, before springing a late surprise at the Altrincham Ice Dome on Sunday.
A record three goals in 39 seconds secured a 5-4 victory against Manchester, as Telford took their fourth consecutive win.
That winning run came too late to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs, but Watkins is already working to build a squad for next season.
He said: "As a coach, a lot of my job is down to the playing side, but there is a high amount of responsibility that goes into recruitment.
"Quite often, that dictates where you will finish the next season, so for me a lot of the hard work starts now.
"Previously, our budget has pigeonholed us somewhat, but if we can get our recruitment for the season up to the right standard, then we can go on to achieve bigger and better things."
Goals from Scott McKenzie (2), Tomas Karpov, Tomas Janak and Luke Brittle secured a first win over Bracknell on Saturday, as Telford bid farewell to a rollercoaster home campaign.
Sunday's game saw the Tigers face a Manchester side that are strong contenders to win the EPL play-offs
The home side raced into a 4-1 lead by the end of the second period, with an early goal from Thomas Soar giving Telford a glimmer of hope.
But a manic 39 seconds at the start of the third period pulled the visitors level, following strikes from Soar, Karpov and James Preece.
A late goal from Danny Rose secured victory for Watkins' men, giving them their best run of the season.
"It was a fantastic way to end the season, with two four-point weekends," Watkins added.
"It felt great to go out on a high and we proved to ourselves that we can take on the other sides. Seeing all the fans in the stands at Manchester was great,as it was in Telford on Saturday.
"I'm gutted that we aren't in the play-offs next weekend, and it is disappointing that we have played our last game.
"Play-off hockey is what the game is all about. As a club we need too address that and build ourselves some goals."
Fans have a chance to bid farewell to this season's squad at the club's annual presentation evening on Saturday evening.
The event takes place at St.Georges Cricket Club, starting at 7.30pm. For tickets (£10) contact Steve Wood at sponsorship@telfordstigers.co.uk
