AARON Nell has challenged his Swindon Wildcats troops to hit their straps from the off as he targets a flying start to the new English Premier League season.

The Cats’ roster for the 2016/17 campaign was officially unveiled at the Link Centre this afternoon and they begin their pre-season preparations with a friendly at home to reigning league champions Basingstoke Bison on Wednesday.

Swindon then begin the new EPL programme at home to Guildford Flames on Saturday, September 10 and Nell says they cannot afford to be playing catch-up once the competitive action gets under way.

“We have got a similar team to last season and we need to get a fast start. We have got the cup competition at the start of the season with double points and that’s important,” said Nell.

“We have never had a fast start. We have got to October 1 every year for the past seven years and it’s always the same, we are always chasing and we start to panic a bit.

“We don’t want that this season. We want to have a good start, a good pre-season and be ready for that first game against Guildford.”

Nell has completed his first pre-season as coach, having taken over from Stevie Lyle early in the previous campaign.

His primary business has been recruiting new imports Max Birbraer and Mark Smith and he is optimistic about the squad he has put together.

“The summer was good fun. It was interesting and there were a lot of things to learn from but it was good,” added Nell.

“I’m happy with what we have done and the guys we have brought in but now the real work starts and we’ve got a few weeks left to get ready for the new season. I’m excited to get going and to see what we can do.

“Max is a very experienced player and is very tough to play against. He is a big body and that is something that we wanted. We have got a small rink and having someone who is tough to play against is always a plus.

“He is not a direct replacement for Carlo Finucci, not one bit. They are very different players but I think he is going to bring a few different things that are going to improve our team.”