MANCHESTER Phoenix' miserable winless run continued as Milton Keynes Lightning and Slough Jets both put them to the sword this weekend.

Tony Hand's side were hammered 9-1 in Milton Keynes on Saturday before the Jets recorded a 4-2 win on the road a day later.

On Sunday, Phoenix altered their line combinations but it made little difference to the eventual outcome.

As in their previous five winless games, they were toothless in attack with the vast majority of their shots not troubling Gregg Rockman in the Jets' goal.

Ciaran Long could have put Slough ahead within the first four seconds but his blast just cleared Steve Fone's bar.

Peter Poljacek made it count though five minutes later – as did Blaz Emersic on 15 minutes – to give the Jets a deserved 2-0 lead.

Adam Walker scored twice either side of the first period break to level it up but Phoenix never really looked like troubling the scorers further.

And that was proved when Long got his second and Andrew Monroe added an insurance marker by the 45th minute to send Phoenix crashing to their fifth defeat in six.

Saturday's trip to Milton Keynes offered Manchester their last realistic chance of catching the league leading Lightning, as well as gaining immediate revenge for the 11-5 Cup semi final defeat last Wednesday.

But goals from Leigh Jamieson (2), Michael Wales (2), Nick Poole, Monir Kalgoum, Lukas Zatopek, Adam Carr and Lewis Christie proved Phoenix are years away from challenging for honours this season.

Phoenix captain Luke Boothroyd got his fourth of the season in reply.

Manchester's season has rapidly unfolded since netminder Fone dislocated in shoulder in mid December and four players – Joe Graham, Robert Lachowicz, James Neil and Iain Bowie – went to Hungary on GB duty.

Since then, they have won just seven games, conceded more than 100 goals, and that has seen them dumped out of the EPL Cup and the title race.

They are now in danger of slipping out of the top four for the first time this season as Basingstoke hunt them down from fifth.

Hand said: “Between now and the playoffs, we have to work a lot harder defensively and find our shooting sticks again.

“If it means re-working the line combinations to try and shake things up, that's what I'll do.”