VETERAN D-man Neil Liddiard says Swindon Wildcats have to pick up their performance for this weekend’s clash with Basingstoke Bison after a disappointing defeat to Peterborough Phantoms last time out.

The 39-year-old scored in the 5-4 defeat in NIHL South One at the Link Centre on Sunday evening, but insists his primary concern is the result at the final buzzer.

Unlike their normal schedule, where the Cats are at home on Saturday before travelling away on Sunday, the Link Centre side have one game this weekend away from home.

Aaron Nell’s troops make a short trip to Basingstoke in the NIHL Cup, with nothing short of victory on their radar.

Despite the disappointing nature of the Phantoms defeat, Liddiard remains optimistic the club can redeem themselves in Hampshire.

“No one wants to lose, everyone was pretty low in the locker room afterwards, but we have to take some positives from the game, pick ourselves up and be ready for the weekend,” said Liddiard.

“We have one game at the weekend against Basingstoke. It’s a tough place to go but we just need to play as well as we can.

“It’s big terrible ice rink. It’s a former park and I don’t know how it is still open but we can’t use that as an excuse because it is the same ice pad for them.

“We always go out to win every game. It doesn’t matter what competition it is, we just want to win.”

Sunday’s strike was a rare goal for Liddiard, who only notched twice last term, however, the 39-year-old reiterated he’s not concerned about personal tallies as long as the team perform.

In their last two fixtures, the Cats have competed in two different competitions, the Autumn Trophy and league action in NIHL South One.

While this weekend makes that three different competitions in three outings, Liddiard states his sole focus is claiming victory regardless of the contest. “I’m not here to score goals, I just want the team to win some silverware, but it is always nice to scorea goal,” he added.

“I don’t think it really matters who scores. No one really cares as long as we get the goals and the team wins, it doesn’t really matter who gets the goals.

“I don’t really know what competition we are playing in most nights because there is so many of them.

“We just want to win every game, do the best we can.”