PLAYER-coach Aaron Nell has challenged Corey McEwen to play a pivotal role for the Swindon Wildcats once he is back to full fitness.

Third-line forward McEwen has been suffering with a long-standing leg injury and sat out the final period of last Saturday’s home win over Sheffield Steeldogs before missing the victory at Bracknell Bees the following day altogether.

The Cats have just one English Premier League fixture this weekend - at home to Guildford Flames tonight - and McEwen is a doubt to feature.

The 23-year-old is in his first season at the Cats after coming over from Canada last summer and Nell says when he is at his best, he can be the difference between a mid-table finish for Swindon and one much higher up.

“Corey has got an injury and it’s been niggling him for a while. I am not going to push him back because we just want to get it over with and get him back,” said Nell.

“If Corey can get back to his pre-Christmas form, it’ll be good. When he’s like that, he is a very important part of our team.

“He gives us a depth we’ve never had and a dimension we’ve never had with his speed and skill. He’s a very good player. He needs to turn up every night and have a good end to the year.

“When the third line play well, that makes us go from a fifth or sixth-placed team to a second, third or fourth-placed team.

“When they play well, they make us a different kettle of fish but there’s a lot of pressure on them. If we want to do well, if we want to overachieve, then we have all got to be playing.

“It’s about working hard every night, coming to the rink, and doing your job.

“Sometimes, a break’s good. You get to watch and see what’s happening and think: ‘I should do this or I should do that’. You can learn some things.

“I think Corey will come back and be a big part of the team at the end of the year.”

The Cats hope Matt Selby will make his comeback after missing the last two fixtures with injury, while Tomasz Malasinski is available after returning from training with the Poland.

Swindon are seeking a fifth win in a row this evening and Nell wants them to keep that streak going as they bid to finish as high as possible in the table.

“Momentum is huge. We have got one game this weekend and from now, we’ve got a tough old run-in. We’ve got to play all the teams around us and it’s going to be tough,” said Nell.

“We've won four in a row. We are happy with that. It’s our best streak of the year. We have one game this week and we’ve just got to put it all into Saturday.”