RYAN Aldridge believes everyone involved with Swindon Wildcats should be beaming with pride after Stevie Lyle and Aaron Nell were named in the Great Britain’s World Championship squad.

Lyle and Nell were both named in Doug Christiansen’s squad on Tuesday for the tournament in Lithuania in April, which will be cut from the 35 players to 23 before the start of the competition.

The Wildcats duo were the only EPL players selected in the squad leaving Aldridge both proud and delighted, if not overly surprised, at the recognition his players have received.

“Stevie is a top goalkeeper and he proves that for us on a regular basis so it makes sense for him to be in there because he has the most experience of the GB goalies,” he said.

“Aaron was obviously in there last year too but it’s great for him to be in there fighting for the spot. They both deserve it to be there.

“To have a homegrown player in the GB squad is great for us because we probably haven’t had one since the days of Neil Liddiard and Mark Richardson. Getting players in there is a hard one to crack.

“We’re all really proud of what they’ve done and hopefully we will be seeing them play at the World Championships.”

Wildcats only have one game this weekend, at home to Bracknell on Saturday, before a midweek clash with Milton Keynes at the Link Centre on Wednesday.

“I would probably rather be playing on Sunday night rather than Wednesday to be honest but we have to play what’s in front of us,” Aldridge said.

“It’s a bit awkward but we will get on with it.

“Bracknell are tough and can come into our building and cause a storm so we need to be ready even though we have a good record against them.

“We have a few niggling injuries right now but they should be fine for the weekend and there’s nothing to worry about.”

The first 1,000 fans through the gate for Saturday night’s game will be handed a free red glow stick in a bid to turn the rink red before face-off.