Leeds Knights doing it tough on long and grinding road of NIHL National title battle

The last week has probably done more to highlight that than at any other point during what has been an exceptional campaign.

Four games in six days – rivals Sheffield Steeldogs had four games in five days – will, by the time their coach arrives back in Leeds in the small hours of Monday morning from a trip to Basingstoke, have become six games in 10 days.

Two of the aforementioned games have brought defeat – both against the Steeldogs. The other two have brought victory – both at Raiders IHC.

It’s not just match nights, however, that take a toll on players as we come to the ‘business end’ of the season. It is also the travel involved, those early-hour returns that disrupt sleep patterns. In some cases players are having to also juggle full-time jobs. In other cases, they will have been carrying niggling little injuries for some time.

In order to help his team get through such a busy period, Aldridge has used every player at his disposal, although resorting to four-line hockey has sometimes heightened the frustration among his players, the diminished ice time not something they are necessarily in favour of.

But Aldridge has to make sure he has healthy and fresh bodies - as much as that is possible at this stage of the campaign - for the run-in that lies ahead as they remain locked in a thrilling three-way battle for the NIHL National regular season championship.

Aldridge knows his team isn’t firing on all cylinders at the moment, struggling to play with the same kind of flare that lit up so many of their early-season performances.

But the 44-year-old head coach has been around long enough and inside enough locker rooms in his time and is understanding of the situation.

For now, it is more about getting points on the board than performances.

“It’s about them being tired and that’s not just the body, it’s a mental thing, too,” said Aldridge. “Negativity can breed quickly and I don’t want it to, I want to nip that in the bud quickly.

“I honestly think we’ve played two of our worst games in the last seven days. I think the fans felt we were great in Romford on Wednesday but we weren’t. That wasn’t us, that wasn’t the way we can play - but it’s about getting the job done.

“I feel we play a lot of games at the minute on hope and we can’t do that, somebody has to step up.

“I think they are going out there and just expecting it to happen like it has for a good chunk of the season instead of going out there and making it happen.

"At the minute things aren’t coming easy, it’s tough but these problems and how you overcome them are what make a champion team.”

Before the Knights head to Hampshire on Sunday, they will try to make the most of home comforts when they welcome Telford Tigers to Elland Road Ice Arena on Saturday (face-off 6.30pm).

The defending champions are going through something of a rebuilding phase having won the NIHL National regular season crown both times since it was launched for the 2019-20 season.

But they will arrive in West Yorkshire in good form, with coach Tom Watkins looking to extend a three-match winning streak which has boosted their chances of making the post-season.

"I think, after the week we’ve had on the road, it will be nice to play at home on Saturday,” admitted Aldridge. “But we’re up against a team that has improved since we last played them, they are coming here on the back of a decent run. So it’s not going to be an easy game as we both need the points badly.

“Every game is tough and it will be no different on Sunday when we head to Basingstoke – they have turned some big teams over lately, look at what they did to Milton Keynes.”