Ryan Aldridge - The Road to the Play-offs

As we head into this weekends fixtures a lot of us will probably look at the league table wondering, just where the Swindon Wildcats will finish the season? Who will we play in the Play-offs and will we go to Coventry? Last weekend saw both a win and a loss. Swindon still have some games in hand to our nearest mid-table rivals and they will be looking to capitalise on this over the next few games.

We sat down with Wildcats Player/Coach Ryan Aldridge, after last Saturdays 7-2 victory over the Telford Tigers, to find out his views...

S.W.S.C: This was a fantastic win for the Wildcats tonight. The Tigers have been very strong over the past few weeks. What was the feeling on the bench and in the changing rooms?

Ryan: Well, the bench was getting a bit irate at one point. That's why I had to call a Time-out, to calm everybody down. It was what it was to be honest. The guys knew we were playing well. I thought we were backing up a bit too much in the first. In the second period break we talked about putting the game off and not really changing much and playing good defence and the boys played how they should have played. They played great. Some guys played phenomenal tonight.

S.W.S.C: Was it the result you expected?

Ryan: Probably not. I think we're more suited to them in our building. I said that to somebody this week. I thought we were going to win but I didn't think we were going to win by a score-line by that.

S.W.S.C: So, who was the stand out payer for you tonight then?

Ryan: Stevie Lyle was one of them. Ollie (Betteridge) was one of them. I could list about ten, to be honest with you. I thought everybody played well. Jan (Kostal) and Henri (Sandvik) again had a great game.

S.W.S.C: So we've got some difficult games coming up. Is there a plan?

Ryan: (Laughs) There's always a plan. We have to assess how Jonas is doing tonight and in the morning so that I can see what line up I play. There's got to be a Plan B now as well. We'll see. We know we have to play a smart game and we obviously haven't been playing great lately.

S.W.S.C: One thing which we have noticed is that you seem to be icing the younger guys a bit more now. They are certainly getting more ice time than they did before Christmas. Have they been making more of an impression on you lately?

Ryan: I think it adds more to our depth. On the third line, Ryan (Watt) has played outstanding. I think Wednesday night was the best game Ryan Watt has played all year for us. You know, just mixing the lines up a bit takes some pressure off some guys. It puts more pressure on the younger guys and they react to it, you know. Floyd (Taylor) and Ollie (Betteridge) play with such energy that they deserve a shot on those lines.

S.W.S.C: We are expecting some of those guys to be missing in the run up to the Play-offs though.  What's that going to mean for your lines?

Ryan: Well we'll have to mix them up again, won't we.

S.W.S.C: In terms of continuity on the lines then, when will we be able to see that?

Ryan: We'll have to start looking at that closer to the play-offs but I'm not going to change it while we're winning that's for sure.

S.W.S.C: At the moment we have some of the guys here on two-way contracts. Adam Harding played in Cardiff last week to help them out. Where do we stand with these guys for the end of the season?

Ryan: I have first call on Adam (Harding) and I have first call on Ollie (Betteridge). And Aaron is a bit different ... but I thought it was okay for us to lose Adam. They needed a player and I thought it was good for him and that's good for us.

S.W.S.C: So, are you comfortable with where we are in the table as we get closer to the end of the season?

Ryan: We've obviously got some games in hand but then we've got some tough games, especially next month. It's going to be tough for the rest of the year, but are we going to make the Play-offs? Yes. Are we going to keep trying to win as many games as we can? Yes

S.W.S.C: Are we going to Coventry?

Ryan: You know what, if we play like we did tonight for the next few games then we should be there. If we don't, and play like we did the past few weeks, it's going to be a tough task. We're a very up and down team sometimes, very unstable. We just have to manage it and keep it level-headed and keep working hard every night.

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The Cats take on the Peterborough Phantoms tonight (1st March) at 5.45 in the Swindon Ice Arena. There are only three home games left in the regular season so we hope to see you all there!

#LOUDANDPROUD