Having ended 2006 with a tight, hard-fought 2-1 win over the Mobilx Newcastle Vipers on New Year's Eve, Manchester Phoenix coach Tony Hand is expecting a big effort from his players this weekend as the Phoenix take on the Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers.

Hand said: "After the busy Christmas and New Year period, we gave the boys a few days off to rest and recuperate and I hope they've enjoyed the break. It also gave Joe Miller, Robin Gomez and myself a chance to get over our ailments, so going into this big weekend, I'll be looking for solid performances to keep us in the mix."

Hand also confirmed that some of the squad have late Christmas presents just arrived. He said: "Aye, at last the new goalie pads that Jason Wolfe has been waiting for have finally landed together with a shipment of sticks we've been waiting for."

With two games this weekend, the Phoenix coach added: "We'll have a good, hard training session on Friday and get ready for the road trip to Nottingham. Our games with the Panthers have all been close this year, but we'll go there in good spirit after two wins and a bit of a rest."

Phoenix host the Sheffield Steelers on Sunday at the Ice Sheffield venue with face-off at 5.30pm.