Morten Risager has backed the Ipswich Witches reserve pairing to come good despite their struggles at the start of the season.

Both Darryl Ritchings and Paco Castagna are in their first full seasons of Premier League racing, but have found things tough having scored a combined 10 points from four meetings.

Having been through the same struggles himself during his early days in Britain, with Coventry more than a decade ago, Risager knows just how hard it can be for a rider to find their feet in this country.

However, the Dane has seen enough from both Castagna and Ritchings to be confident they will be just fine.

“Paco finished up with (against Peterborough) with a superb ride in heat 14 and, even though Darryl didn’t score many points he is improving,” he said.

“He’s looking good. When I first came to England I didn’t score many points to start with and I struggled a bit.

“I was scoring ones, twos and threes in most meetings but then, after a couple of months, I went back to Denmark and raced against the guys I’d ridden against the year before and was way better.

“You don’t notice it as much when you’re riding here, but with him (Ritchings) doing National League as well you can see how good he is. He was on a maximum the other night (for Birmingham against Buxton) and had an engine failure.

“I’m sure the boys will come good and we’ll only improve. I have a lot of confidence in Darryl, he’ll come good.

“Paco and Darryl are weak points at the moment but they are improving and will come good. We have proved we can win while carrying them but I’m not worried about their points.

“They are improving and it will come.”

Risager’s start to the season has been a disrupted one, after breaking a bone in his foot in the opener against Scunthorpe, but while not yet 100 per cent the Dane insisted the injury isn’t bothering him too much.

“It’s not 100 per cent, I’m not ready to go out running or anything like that, but it’s getting better every day. In another week or two I will be fully fit again.

“When I ride I kind of ignore it, get on with it, and then feel in pain when I get back to the pits.

“We’re not footballers, we go out and race and that’s the only way I can earn money so I can’t let it hamper me.”