Paternostro expecting tough ride to trophies

Leicester coach Rob Paternostro wasn’t expecting things to be easy in their quest for silverware, as they dropped out of another competition at the weekend.

The much-fancied Riders lost out after a titanic battle against the Newcastle Eagles over two legs in the BBL Cup semi-finals, leaving them with just the BBL Championship, and the end of the season play-offs, to concentrate on.

Some believed that Paternostro’s strong squad could march their way through the season, but that cup defeat, as well as a heavy championship loss at the hands of Plymouth on Sunday, shows there is plenty of work still to do.

Paternostro told the club’s official website: “I think that we have to understand that we need to sharpen up on a bunch of things, especially on the offensive end and continue to give the effort defensively and we’ll be fine.

“I said that this was a tough weekend for us no doubt but we’ve got a squad of good players and intelligent players and this week at practice is very important to how we play.”

“This is a tough league with some tough road games and some good teams. I never expected this group to roll through this BBL season.”

The Riders host Durham Wildcats in the championship on Saturday, before enjoying an 18 day break until a festive clash at Worcester Wolves.