Russell applauds Jets but demands they remain focused

It was the classic sporting story of David versus Goliath – the underdog toppling the heavy favourites.

Slough Jets played their three best periods of ice hockey this season at The Hangar on Saturday night to hand title favourites and former Elite League powerhouses Manchester Phoenix a 5-3 defeat.

For head coach Pete Russell it was justification of his belief that the Jets can beat anyone in the English Premier League if they produce their ‘A’ game.

“We played three really good periods, kept our focus and got a result,” said the ex-Jets player. “We played really well and took our chances.

“We’ve been playing well all season, but sometimes it’s harder to win games at this stage of the season because all the teams are fit and raring to go.”

For all their good work against big spending Manchester, the fifth-placed Jets blew the chance to complete a four-point weekend when they lost 4-3 at struggling Peterborough Phantoms on Sunday.

It was a case of the team losing their focus at crucial stages, something which infuriated Russell, who has been doing research this week as to why players lose concentration.

“We clicked against Manchester and kept our focus,” he explained. “But on Sunday we lost focus and shipped four goals.

“I sat down on Sunday night and was really angry to lose because it should have been a four-point weekend.

“I was doing research into how to prevent a team losing focus and I read that when a team starts to do well they can get into the habit of switching off.

“We need to make sure that doesn’t happen because we played so well the night before then lost focus in the first period against Peterborough.”

Tomorrow (Saturday), Slough host Guildford Flames before a trip up to Manchester on Sunday for what is sure to be an exciting encounter.

The fixtures continue what has been a difficult start to the season for the Jets, but Russell is confident his side can repeat Saturday’s level of performance.

“We’re playing against the two best teams in the league this weekend,” he said. “But we’ve got to play them some time!

“These are two of the toughest games you can play, but we’ve competed at their level already this season and can do it again.”