Author

Joel Osborne writes

Posted Thursday, April 26th 2018 @BristolSportJO

We can’t underestimate them - Smith

Thursday, April 26th 2018

Leslee Smith says Bristol Flyers can not afford to underestimate Leeds Force and Manchester Giants heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Having already secured their place in the postseason against Worcester Wolves, Flyers have the opportunity to finish as high as sixth if they can defeat the two lowest placed teams in the league this weekend.

Despite both teams having a combined total of just five wins all season, Smith believes both Leeds and Manchester will have a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality.

"You definitely can’t underestimate the teams towards the bottom of the table,” he told Bristol Flyers TV.

“They have noting to lose and they’re going to come out and play as hard as they can. When they match up against teams like us they tend to play a lot harder.

"Leeds are going to come in with a lot of intensity and focus - they don’t have as much talent as some of the teams in the BBL, but they’re going to play hard and we need to come out and match that intensity.

"Manchester are going to have some great fan support and it’s going to be a tough environment.

"They might be near the bottom of the table, but they bring lot of intensity to the game. They’re going to come in with a chip on their shoulder and they’ll be out with a lot to prove.”

Leslee Smith

Following last week’s results, Flyers have already guaranteed their winningest league campaign since joining the top flight in 2014.

Smith continued: “It's very pleasing to be back in the play-offs for another year and hopefully we’ll go further than we did last year.

"You always want to end up with a record above .500. It just goes to show the hard work and dedication that the team have putting in this season.

"We’ve been selling out games since the start of the season and every time we speak to the fans they always tell us they’re definitely going to come back.

"It’s a really great environment and I’m yet to hear anybody say that they didn't enjoy a game, so I’m not surprised that it’s another sellout this weekend."

Tickets for Friday’s final home game of the regular season against Leeds Force have completely SOLD OUT.

BBL play-off ticket information and pricing will be revealed soon - please note that 2017/18 season cards will NOT be valid for play-off games at the SGS College Arena.