LIAM KIRK says Great Britain need to learn quickly from their mistakes - including himself - if they are to avoid an instant relegation back to the World Championships second tier.

Pete Russell’s team showed promise in their opening weekend defeats to Austria and the USA in Zurich but came badly unstuck against Hungary at the Swiss Life Arena on Monday evening when they lost 5-0.

The game will have been one GB earmarked as winnable ahead of the tournament - one win from seven group games often proving in the past to be enough for teams to avoid the drop.

But now they need at least four points from their remaining four games in order to stand any chance of remaining among the world’s elite for next year’s tournament in Germany.

Their next two games are against Switzerland and Finland - both teams ranked in the top six in the world. GB are currently ranked 17th in the IIHF rankings.

“We’re just really disappointed,” former Sheffield Steelers’ forward, Kirk told IIHF.tv. “I think we had spells where we controlled the game but credit to their goalie, he played a really good game. They took their chances, we didn’t.

“We’ve got to learn from the mistakes in this game and just keep growing every day. We’ve got to find a way to recover because these games are coming thick and fast.”

Kirk, from Maltby, held himself responsible for Hungary’s third goal after turning the puck over in the neutral zone to allow Istvan Terbocs to break clear down centre ice and beat Rotherham-born netminder Ben Bowns for a short-handed strike in the 24th minute.

TOUGH NIGHT: GB's Liam Kirk jostles for position in front of the Hungary net on Monday in Zurich. Picture: James Assinder/IHUK Media.

placeholder image — TOUGH NIGHT: GB's Liam Kirk jostles for position in front of the Hungary net on Monday in Zurich. Picture: James Assinder/IHUK Media.

From there, it was an uphill struggle for Russell’s players, who will have to produce something special in the next five days to retain their top-tier status.

“I’m an experienced player and a leader and I can’t really give that turnover away for their third goal - that gave them all the momentum and then we were crawling back again,” added 26-year-old Kirk, who helped Eisbären Berlin become DEL play-off champions earlier this month.

“It’s a tough feeling but we still have four games to go and so we have to find a way to put this one past us and build - you never know in these tournaments.

“We’ve got a young team, we’ve got players that haven’t played at this level before, players that haven’t even played for the national team before

UPHILL BATTLE: Sheffield Steelers' Cole Shudra (right) battles for possession with Hungary's Zeteny Hadabas in Zurich on Monday night. Picture: James Assinder/IHUK Media.

“We’ve got to enjoy the experience, enjoy the challenge and embrace it and find a way to put a full 60 minutes together and avoid certain mistakes.”

GB go into Thursday evening’s game at the Swiss Life Arena facing hosts who boast a 100 per cent record.

They extended their winning sequence to four games with a convincing victory over Austria on Wednesday afternoon and GB will have to produce something special to avoid suffering a similar fate.

Switzerland – boasting the likes of NHL superstars such as Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Roman Josi – opened their campaign with a 3-1 win over the USA, before following up a 4-2 win over Latvia with a 6-1 triumph over Germany.

The most recent encounter between the two came at the Worlds two years ago in Prague when Switzerland won 3-0.

The two also met in the same tournament in Riga back in 2021, the Swiss again enjoying superiority with a 6-3 victory – Kirk (2) and Brendan Connolly scoring GB’s goals.