CAPTAIN Jan Kostal has warned his Swindon Wildcats team-mates that they can’t afford to be caught having a cat-nap when the first puck of the play-offs drops tomorrow evening (face-off 6pm).

The Link Centre men lock horns with the Peterborough Phantoms both home and away this weekend as they bid to make it to the English Premier League finals weekend in Coventry next month.

Hard-working Kostal, who also has an assistant coach role with the Wildcats, thinks that his team have been guilty of starting games slowly this term.

But he is certain that Swindon need to wake up and smell the coffee straight away if they want to be in with a shot of play-off glory.

“I think it’s important to be ready at the beginning of the game because I think, in the season, in some games we play, we have not been ready in the first ten minutes,” said the one-time Czech international, who helped Swindon thrash Peterborough 6-2 at the Link last weekend.

“I think it was the last time Peterborough beat us at home 5-1 (on January 24), in Czech we say ‘we slept for the first ten minutes’.

“It will be very important to be ready from the first minute and it will be key to beating Peterborough.

“I’m very happy that we are in the play-offs and I think it will be another game - not the same as the game last week.

“I think it will be not so easy because usually a hockey player says ‘the play-offs are like a new league.’ “I think we must beat Peterborough twice, so it’s hard work and I think it will be not so easy.

“The last game, nothing could happen.

“It could only change the position of us starting away, or something like that.

“Maybe they played not so good but I think they will be better.”

Kostal added: “I think the pressure is more every time in the play-offs. Which team will be stronger mentally, who will be stronger in their heads.

“Who can play under pressure will be the winning team, I think.

“I think before the game, we must not be so afraid about the game.

“We must play our style that we played in our last game against Peterborough – good D and not be so long in our zone.

“They have good forwards so we must play simply out of our zone.

“I think we have good break players to score quick goals and make pressure on their D.

“That will be the recipe to beat Peterborough.”

Tickets for tomorrow night’s home leg of the play-off at the Link Centre are available to buy online or by calling the box office on 01793 886 857.