SWINDON Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell says he can sense the beginning of another considerable winning run ahead of two favourable fixtures in the National League this weekend.

Cats are set to host struggling Bracknell Bees on Saturday at the Link Centre before travelling east to take on London Raiders in their usual Sunday away day slot.

Nell’s comments follow a string of encouraging performances around Christmas where the Wildcats either won or lost by a goal in six out of eight matches.

Though Nell’s men fell 6-5 to Hull Pirates last Sunday, the Swindon chief made his feelings of pride surrounding the team’s near-miracle comeback well known and says those characteristics will serve the Cats well as they make the tackle the remaining stretch of regular season fixtures.

Nell said: “I can feel the team starting to turn a corner.

“Before Christmas we obviously had a tough stretch, but I can feel the team starting to turn a corner and I can feel us going on a winning run again soon.

“What we’ve got to do is just stay patient because the reality is Telford are playing so well, they’re almost showing the rest of us up.

“Every team in the league has had a down period so far this season – including us – but they’re the team that has been the most consistent and that’s why they deserve to be where they are right now.”

Ahead of the weekend’s fixtures, Swindon are seven points behind league leaders Telford having played a game more.

But while the Cats’ next two games are relatively straightforward, Telford end their weekend with a home clash against third-place Basingstoke Bison.

Nell is hopeful their title challengers will drop off the pace they have maintained all season soon, and if they do, the 30-year-old has backed his players to put the pressure on with a series of four-point weekends.

Nell said: “You would expect Telford to go through a sticky patch, but who knows?

“If they don’t, they deserve to win the league because they’ve been the best team in the league so far.

“If a team doesn’t have a sticky patch throughout a season – that doesn’t happen very often – then they deserve to win the league.

“But if they do, we need to be as close to them as possible. We’ll keep on working and try and go on a little run.”