Telford Tigers player-coach Tom Watkins has hailed his side's tally of three points from four over Christmas as a "real bonus" as he looks to build on a positive end to 2011.

A narrow 5-4 overtime defeat at EPL title-chasers Guildford Flames on Monday evening was followed by a 5-4 penalty shots victory over Peterborough Phantoms on Tuesday.

Those results gave Telford a useful lift after a confidence-sapping run of defeats in December, with the Tigers' GB under-20s contingent having now returned from international duty.

And Watkins wants to use his side's festive success as a springboard for the rest of the season.

He said: "It is always a confidence lift to take three points from four, as we are a young side and things can go up and down very quickly.

"In that respect, any points we can dig up are a real bonus and we can certainly build on those games. It was a really positive end to the year."

Both games were, however, marked by late comebacks from Telford's opponents.

The Tigers let slip a three-goal cushion on Boxing Day, with goals coming from Joe Henry (2), Marek Hornak and Thomas Soar, before a late comeback from Guildford.

It was a similar story the following day, when strikes from Scott McKenzie (2) and Henry (2) gave Telford a 4-2 lead with just five minutes remaining.

But despite Peterborough forcing the game into overtime during the final few minutes, a Juraj Senko penalty secured two hard-earned points for the visitors.

Watkins added: "All the guys worked really hard and showed some real passion.

"We made Guildford fight for their points and anything you can pick up in their rink is good. On Tuesday it was a really intense game and the guys stood up.

"Equally, it is a shame we let a couple of leads slip, but Guildford are very good on the offense and the game at Peterborough was very intense, especially when they got the crowd behind them."

Watkins will now give his side a few days off after a busy festive period, but will be looking for a similar effort when they return in the new year.

He said: "Like everyone, the guys will be celebrating, but I expect them to get back into the gym and get themselves fit for the Sheffield game on January 2nd."