Whole Steelers team has to give everything they have to get title hopes back on track, coach Aaron Fox says

The failure of forwards to track back, close down opponents and protect key areas around Tomas Duba's slot has proved costly - it's been a major reason why they have lost four straight games.

Fans sometimes look to forwards purely for goals and assists and overlook the need for a two-way game in which they execute they their defensive responsibilities.

Coach Aaron Fox admits it is one area that has changed for the worse, recently.

He thinks some forwards are guilty of expecting defencemen to stop attacks and play outlet passes without the need for any assistance.

They haven't been in the right positions after a puck is turned over or their team is not in possession.

That weakness has been examined in what has been a no-nonsense week inside Steelers' camp.

Fox said issues of tracking/back checking were "at or close to the top of the list of things we have not done very well."

Defencemen have certainly been exposed by that lack of coverage. On top of that the team have been losing one-on-one battles they would normally expect to win - last Saturday's defeat by Dundee Stars at Sheffield Arena contained glaring examples of both.

Fox hasn't hidden from the situation. He admits that "losing can be contagious" and that the team's fortunes were "swinging the wrong way" - phrases we didn't expect to hear at the end of January when Steelers were seven points clear at the top of the EIHL and scoring that many goals they didn't have to worry about how many they were conceding.

"We have got to find a way out of it," said the coach. "It is not going to be an individual that peels us out of it, the whole team has to block shots and give everything they have. We are not making excuses - we just have to put things right."

He recognised it had been a difficult week in-house.

"We have had some meetings...there has not been a lot of positives at the moment. We have to get more out of the group, everybody knows that. It's been serious."

Steelers play at Nottingham Panthers on Saturday night, the scene of three victories earlier this season.

"We have played pretty good in that building...there is always a good game with them. We will need to have our game in check."

*Sheffield currently lead the table in the number of penalty minutes per game - but Fox says that was influenced by some of the major penalties they had.

"We are a team that that tries to play on the edge," he said but added they drew more penalties than other teams, as well.