CHESHIRE Jets head coach Paul Smith is going into Sunday’s BBL Trophy final against Newcastle Eagles with serious fitness doubts over two of his key players.

Talismanic captain James Hamilton, who almost pulled off a miracle in the BBL Cup final when he single-handedly hauled the Jets back into the game, and in-form Steven Gayle are both struggling with shoulder problems.

In previous seasons, going into a major final against the BBL’s best side with two men injured would have been a disaster for the Jets.

But at Guildford Spectrum on Sunday, with or without the pair, they will be confident as they have recently struck an incredible vein of form that has seen them demolish Essex Pirates, Glasgow Rocks and Milton Keynes Lions in effortless style.

And Smith, who also had an injury scare over another key man, Colin O’Reilly, at the weekend, strongly believes his team are capable of winning the Trophy for the first time since 2004, when their four-year dominance of the competition ended.

“We have worked a lot on tempo,” said Smith. “We have altered the tempo we play at and brought more intensity to the floor.

“The team has responded really well to that and we have had some great results recently, despite missing James and Steven.

“James is really struggling. He missed out all weekend and we will assess him nearer the time. Steven missed the Rocks game and played a little in the second leg of the semi-final on Sunday, but he’s had a reaction so we’ve been nursing him through training.

“But there is confidence throughout the side and every single player has stepped up to the plate. We are going into the final with real belief that we can win this trophy.”