PHOENIX have been rocked by the news that Ryan Watson is leaving the club and returning to play in America.

Watson, who scored a penalty as the Phoenix beat Nottingham 5-4 in a shoot-out on Sunday is going back to one of his former clubs Oklahoma City Blazers.

General manager Andy Costigan said: "Ryan says he enjoyed his time here but found it difficult to settle and could not resist when his old club came back in for him with a very good offer.

"It is a blow for the team but our coach Tony Hand is already looking at a couple of possible replacements."

Phoenix have three games in three days this weekend but will struggle to get a new man in place by Friday.

Meanwhile, Hand has warned everyone not to get carried away after four straight wins have lifted his side to fourth in the table. Phoenix stunned second-placed Nottingham Panthers with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory at Ice Sheffield on Sunday night with Swedish star Johan Molin converting two of the succesful penalty shots.

Tough

"We are moving up the table which is good but it is still too early to say how the league will pan out," cautioned Hand. "Belfast are top but they have played four games more than us while Cardiff have played two games less than us and are just a point behind.

"We'll know better after Christmas how things are going in the meantime we just have to hang on in there and try and get points on the board.

"The guys have been playing well and the results have gone our way," said Hand.

"We lost a couple of guys during the game with Derek Campbell receiving a match penalty and Dominic Hecl getting hurt, so the result was even better than it looked.

"It was a tough game but as I've said before there are no easy games in this league.

"Molin has done well with his penalty shots. He has a lot of skill and used it to good effect. It makes a difference if you can put them away but it does not always go your way.

"I'm pleased for Joe Miller scoring his first goal but I've said all season that the British kids are doing well and this result was a great team effort."

Phoenix now face their toughest test of the season starting in Belfast on Friday followed by a trip to Basingstoke and a home clash with Cardiff in Deeside on Sunday.

"Obviously it is not the ideal scenario," said Costigan. "We tried to re-schedule the Basingstoke game but were unable to reach an agreement with their management."

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