RYE HOUSE are desperate to get back into action this week to prevent them going cold in the run-in to the Premier League season.

BERWICK are hopeful that skipper Paul Clews’ knee injury sustained in the Premier League Fours proves not to be serious ahead of the weekend clash with Newcastle.

Manager Ian Rae said: “The crash for Paul didn’t exactly help our cause, and the skipper seems to have hurt his knee, but we’re hoping not too badly as we approach the weekend against Newcastle. It’s a trophy that has not come our way, but we weren’t that far off the pace to be fair to the lads, but we weren’t good enough on the day to make the final.”

BIRMINGHAM promoter Graham Drury described the club’s Premier League Fours triumph at Peterborough as one of the best moments of his managerial career.

Drury said: “This means more than the other wins, with all due respect to our friends at Long Eaton and Workington. Birmingham is a big city club where success is almost expected and whatever happens this season we know we have delivered a national title to the city. It was a wonderful all-round effort by everyone involved and the fans were fantastic.”

EDINBURGH skipper Matthew Wethers says the Monarchs need to keep their focus - after just securing all three points from an uncomfortable meeting against Berwick.

Wethers said: “I think a few of our guys need to take a look at themselves and pick up their performances. We are top of the league and I don’t want to lose that, so I’m going to have a word with them and make sure they lift their game.”

GLASGOW have matches in hand as they look to secure a Young Shield place, with their hopes boosted by their draw at Somerset last week.

Co-promoter Stewart Dickson told Speedway Star: “This result will give us a huge lift and hopefully will allow us a greater opportunity to cement our place. As I have said before, I cannot believe with this team that we might be struggling to qualify for it, but this does ease the problems a little.”

KING’S LYNN will hand 17-year-old Young Stars’ rider Jake Knight a Premier League debut in their home clash with Somerset on Wednesday.

Team manager Rob Lyon said: “We got a real buzz from last week’s match, and part of that came from watching someone as young as Lasse (Bjerre) go out and mixing it with the more experienced riders, therefore I feel we have nothing to lose but everything to gain by giving Jake this opportunity.”

NEWCASTLE were left to rue a freak engine failure for Rene Bach which cost them the chance of progression to the final stages of the Premier League Fours.

Manager George English said: “Kenni Larsen’s engine sucked in the air filter in the Pairs at Somerset ruining our chances there, and now the self-same bizarre thing happened to Rene when he’d shot from last to first in his last ride only for the mechanical anomaly to stop his engine too and send him to the back, and again stop us reaching a final. It’s frustrating in the extreme as they rode well and deserved a lot more.”

NEWPORT face Glasgow on Friday (7.45pm) in the first floodlit speedway in Newport since the sport closed at the former Somerton Park stadium in 1977. There will be a Happy Hour in the bar between 6pm and 7pm, a firework display at the conclusion of the match and a karaoke in the bar afterward. Also, Kids for a Quid as part of an historic evening for the club.

Commented club owner Steve Mallett: “The floodlights will allow us more options to consider about our race days and allow us to attract more events to the stadium, all of which helps the continuity of the sport in the city.”

REDCAR staff have paid tribute to office manager Julie Lewis, who passed away on Saturday evening.

Club co-founder Chris Van Straaten said: “Julie’s local knowledge and history of previous Bears promotions made her invaluable particularly in the initial years of Redcar Speedway. She was fiercely loyal and committed to anything to do with her beloved Bears with an energy that belied her years. Julie epitomised the qualities of many fine people I met while establishing Redcar - loyal, hardworking and outspoken. She will be sorely missed.”

RYE HOUSE are desperate to get back into action this week to prevent them going cold in the run-in to the Premier League season.

Manager John Sampford said: “We really need to get the matches in again. Five match points from the Northern Tour gave us a real high, albeit with the loss of Jordan Frampton, but we’ve not ridden since apart from a disappointing eight races in the Fours. We need to get back into the groove again this week. We’ve got Birmingham away coming up on Wednesday, and Scunthorpe at home on Saturday, for what will be our first fixture at Rye House in five weeks. They’ll both be difficult without Jordan, although we can spread the load as the rest of the team will be eligible for Rider-Replacement rides. We’ll give both matches our best shots.”

SCUNTHORPE were out of luck in the Premier League Fours as they went out at the semi-final stage on a countback having tied on points with Edinburgh.

Manager Richard Hollingsworth said: “The eight-race format is such a short one that anything can happen and nobody wants to come to a meeting and only get two rides. David (Howe) was winning his second race when he was wiped out and only got a second in the re-run. It’s disappointing but we have to take the positives out of the meeting and carry them forward to next week. We’ve got three meetings in three days and in the league and if we avoid any last places we’ll be winning matches.”

SHEFFIELD take a break from Premier League action this week to stage the Northern Riders’ Championship at Owlerton with several riders with successful records at the track included.

Co-promoter David Hoggart said: “This is a very exciting meeting for the fans to look forward to and there’s a bit of rivalry between some of the riders. The Championship has a rich heritage and tradition, and I feel confident this meeting will live up to the prestige of the occasion. It should be a cracker.”

SOMERSET celebrate ten years of racing at the Oak Tree Arena with a special anniversary meeting on Friday - which was postponed earlier in the season. The line-up includes Elite League stars Chris Holder, Darcy Ward and Mads Korneliussen as well as recent major event winners Jason Lyons and Ricky Ashworth.

Rebels promoter Debbie Hancock said: “We did say at the time that if we couldn’t get a line-up comparable to that we had for the original staging then we wouldn’t run the meeting, but I have had so many fans come up to me to say that they still wanted to have a celebration meeting. The riders we have booked have all had excellent meetings here on their visits to the Oak Tree Arena.”

STOKE promoter Dave Tattum has confirmed that Claus Vissing has been banned by the Danish Federation until the end of the season.

Tattum said: “Claus informed us on Saturday and it is a bombshell for the club and supporters as he is a favourite here at Stoke. We are currently looking at all the options available to us.”

WORKINGTON reserve Richard Lawson is set for an x-ray on his shoulder after crashing when taking a guest appearance for Sheffield at Berwick on Saturday.

Comets boss Ian Thomas told getnoticedonline.co.uk: “I certainly won’t be pushing him into riding again if he’s not right because I know how he had problems with the shoulder last year. He’s flying at the moment so this will be a big set-back to him if he can’t continue in the form he’s been showing and has to miss-out.”