"If we play like that this coming weekend we can get four points in our games against Swindon and qualification will be back in our hands," he said.

"I cannot fault the guys' workrate and commitment but at the moment throughout the team we are not getting the goals and points we need," he added.

Poole said the pre-match incidents affected Lightning's preparations and made it difficult to concentrate early on. But once they levelled the game he believed they were the side more likely to win.

He said he did not witness the incidents and the club will await the outcome of police investigations before deciding whether to take further action.

The previous night at Slough the player coach said Lightning were unable to recover from conceding two powerplay goals.

Poole said Lightning will not be taking Swindon Wildcats lightly in the back to back games this weekend – the Wiltshire side having beaten them in both their last two clashes.

But he believes the team can beat them twice to put their play-off campaign back on track with the point gained from Sunday's overtime loss possibly proving to be vital.