THEY say money talks, but Alan Lack insists Slough Jets are out to prove that passion for the jersey is a more valuable commodity.

The Hangar club have been at the centre of an English Premier Ice Hockey League merry-go-round in recent weeks after the departure of a host of key players.

Most have left for improved deals with the likes of big spenders Telford Tigers and Peterborough Phantoms.

The string of departures have left livewire Lack as one of the more experienced players in the Jets roster.

But he is not phased by the new responsibility and insists the team are out to prove a point in the second half of the season.

“Players who wanted to stay have stayed, they’re all passionate about the team and if you have passion over money you’re going to perform better,” he told the Observer.

“We’re the underdogs now so we have to prove to everybody in the whole league that we are better than them.

“Of course if we had more experienced players the team would benefit, but hopefully the next few weeks will be a good signing period and we will come back in the new year and start gelling.

“It might take us a few weeks to get to where we were before the players left but we should be fine.” As well as losing a number of key players, Slough also saw head coach Slava Koulikov leave for Peterborough earlier this month.

He has been replaced by former assistant Craig Moran, who has the challenging task of rebuilding the team in the middle of the season.

Moran has already been busy signing new players and Lack is confident that Jets, who currently sit fifth in the table, will not slide out of play-off contention.

“If we get a decent couple of Brits in and replace the players we’ve lost then we should be heading for play-offs and even Coventry, that’s what I want to achieve,” he declared.

“The management and the owners have reassured us that it’s all good, so what has happened has happened and now we are just rebuilding.

“Everyone says we’re going to be last but we have a good strong core of the team. We just have to keep performing and working hard every match.” Jets finished 2013 with back-to-back defeats to Milton Keynes Lightning, losing 7-1 away on Saturday before going down 7-4 at home the following night.

They start the New Year against Telford Tigers at The Hangar on January 4, then go to Guildford Flames the next evening.

**PICK up a copy of the Observer, out every Friday, for all the latest sports news and action** **FOLLOW the Observer on Twitter at @Observer_sports**