BRACKNELL Bees head coach Lukas Smital had nothing but praise for his players despite seeing them lose three games on successive days for the second week in a row, writes Dave Wright.

“They are giving me 100 per cent and I can’t ask for more than that,” said the Czech.

His injury-hit squad – and he is among the casualties himself – lost 7-3 away to Guildford Flames on Friday, 6-3 at fellow strugglers Hull Pirates the following day and then 6-4 to Telford Tigers at The Hive on Sunday (pictured).

They have now suffered 15 defeats in a row and find themselves at the bottom of the England Premier Ice Hockey League table.

And it all comes at a time when chairman Andrew Cross admits his cash-strapped club are facing “very difficult” challenges off the rink.

On the ice, Smital is facing his own challenging times, but he is certainly remaining optimistic.

Following the defeat by Telford, the Czech told the News: “We played with passion against a talented team. They [Telford] had good movement and skated well.

“We tried to match them. I thought we got unlucky at times, but my guys came back well to score goals and they kept going.

“Every player tonight gave 100 per cent.”

Smital accepted that fatigue does come into question when his players are asked to perform at the highest level on three consecutive days, adding: “It did kick in, especially as it was for the second week in a row. But [tonight’s display] shows the character and desire there is in the team, so all credit to the players.”

Bees’ player-coach also believes that the losing run is not denting their confidence when they take to the ice.

“They are still showing character and desire,” he continued.

“Like I said, I cannot fault any of the players as they all put in a lot of effort in every game – and, as their coach, I appreciate that.

“We are all working hard and we’re not turning up for games saying ‘we are going to lose’.

“We are always competitive and competing for two points.

“But we are up against teams who have a lot of depth and a lot of talent.

“We need to beat them with our passion and our aggressive play and we are hoping we get a few breaks which will give us points to start climbing up the table.”

Smital would like to bring in a player or two in order to strengthen his squad, but accepts it is “not easy with our financial position”.

The 41-year-old forward is currently sidelined with a broken finger, but said: “As soon as I can grab a stick I will be out there as I want to help the team.”

Bees ‘ teenage defenceman Josh Tetlow also suffered a wrist injury during the Telford game and could miss this weekend’s matches at Milton Keynes on Saturday and home to Guildford Flames on Sunday.