Barons Head Coach Darren Bellerby is optimistic that his side can bounce back from recent defeats in upcoming matches after enjoying a rare weekend off.

Solihull have won only two of their 12 league fixtures so far this season, a home double over Nottingham Lions, but Bellerby is confident that his side can cause an upset when they entertain Blackburn Hawks at Hobs Moat Road on Sunday November 13 and Billingham Stars on Sunday November 20.

“An upset could be on the cards against Blackburn too. They haven’t been going too great the last few weeks, so we’ll give it our best and see what happens.

“With Rob Eley coming back to training too, it has been a boost for everyone. We’ve got two or three sessions under his belt, so he could go back into the team soon, but it’s hard when you’ve been out for a while.

“He was good for 50 points last season, so even 25 at this level would be fantastic. He’ll just add more beef to our attacking line which should help us out a lot.”

Despite the optimism for November, Darren was critical of the fixture list as his side faced eight games - including three double-headers, in a congested October.

But he commended his side’s recent discipline after accumulating a wealth of penalty minutes in the early stages of the season that he felt, cost them points.

“It was too much last month.” He added.

“Now we’ve only got two home games in November which is good, because fatigue can set in – and it did last time.

“Our lads have got jobs as well remember. They have to get up at eight o’clock on a Monday morning too, so to have a weekend to ourselves was nice.

“On the plus side we have cut the penalties right down, which is good.
“I said I’d address the penalties and I told my boys that if they concede too many penalties then they will be sitting on the bench and not playing.”

“It’s unheard of for us this season; we’ve been racking up penalty minutes like you wouldn’t believe. But now we’ve cut them, we’re giving ourselves a better chance of winning matches.”

Darren has also confirmed the return of former skipper Rob Eley to the squad and hopes to have the powerful forward available for selection sooner rather than later.

“Hopefully we’ll be fresh for the two games coming up - Two tough games against Blackburn and Billingham.” He said.

“Billingham will be really tough especially. They’re unbeaten this season as well, but you never know. With a fresh side we’ll give it a good go and you never know what might happen.