Ford's side have not played since seeing their BBL Trophy hopes end after just four games.

But Riders get back on the league trail when they host fellow play-off hopefuls London Capital on Saturday and then face Plymouth on the road on Sunday.

"I've worked the players like dogs over the last couple of weeks," Ford said.

"They've said that they have never worked so hard.

"We've almost gone back to pre-season, and because we started so late in the summer, that's been good.

The players have said that they have never worked so hard Martin Ford

"We hadn't spent enough time on team concepts, and the mini break has worked really well for that. We've done a lot of work on transition."

With Capital having made several changes to their squad in the last month, Ford admits that Riders will go into the game with only limited knowledge of the side they will face.

"They are difficult to scout, but we have got some DVDs from their pre-Christmas games, and although their stars may have changed, Steve [Bucknall] will still be expecting them to work hard," Ford explained.

"We won't take them lightly, because teams that work hard are always capable of getting victories.

"I remember Lijah Perkins from when I recruited him for Derby. He works hard, he can defend well, and his long body means that he changes shots.