Richie Hargreaves admits that his position as Bristol Pitbulls head coach may be under threat – from his sister Becci.

Banned Hargreaves watched on as Becci took temporary charge of team affairs on Saturday and led the side to a surprise 6-3 victory over Invicta Dynamos – much to the amusement of the Pitbulls squad.

"I've been getting it in the ear from a lot of the guys," said Hargreaves. "They're saying they want Becci to replace me full-time now!"

He added: "It was a fantastic victory and I wasn't surprised at all really. We have been in good form of late and it was only a matter of time before we registered a victory over a top four side.

"I had no worries about Becci taking charge. She's played for Great Britain and runs her own team over at Swindon, so she's very experienced and the guys have a lot of respect for her.

"I won't be resigning just yet, but with Becci around maybe I'll be able to take a few more days off!"

Lithuanian import Eggie Bauba, who scored a hat-trick, and net-minder Chris Douglas were the outstanding performers as Pitbulls brought Invicta's recent eight-game unbeaten record to an end. There was little sign of that happening in the early stages, however, as Ryan Ellis opened the scoring for the hosts in under a minute. Bauba's hat-trick quickly followed before the scoring was completed by Sam Feeney, Steve Osman and Shannon Taylor for a Pitbulls side minus the services of the Hargreaves brothers and Alan Armour.

"We were a bit under-strength, but I think that worked to our advantage," said Hargreaves. "Invicta probably saw the team sheet and took us a bit lightly. Even with a couple of injuries, we have a good amount of depth in the squad to cope this season.

He added: "Eggie was on fire for us and I think he is probably the best import in the league. One man never makes a team, but he is a real game-changer for us.

"Chris was also fantastic for us at the other end. He made some great saves and that is the reason I brought him in. He's played at a high-level and is a very experienced net-minder who gives the guys in front of him plenty of confidence."

Pitbulls moved up to sixth place ahead of Saturday's trip to the Isle of Wight to take on the IOW Raiders. Hargreaves' side are back in Bristol on Sunday to host Cardiff Devils at Frogmore Street.