NEW Panthers co-boss Jan Staechmann says he can’t wait to get started with the Readypower Panthers next season.

NEW Panthers co-boss Jan Staechmann says he can’t wait to get started with the Readypower Panthers next season.

Staechmann, the former Danish national team manager, is set to team up with long-serving Trevor Swales at the East of England Showground in 2012 having gained vital experience of domestic club management with a spell at Swindon this year.

Staechmann says he was interested in the Panthers position immediately after being approached, especially having heard plenty of good things about the club from other high-profile figures in the sport.

He said: “I had the phone call to ask if I was fixed up, and at that time I wasn’t. I was asked if I fancied coming to Peterborough and I must admit it was something that did very much interest me. It was a very exciting option.

“I had a bit of a think about it and talked it through with my wife, and I decided it was really where I wanted to go. I called Trevor on the Monday and said I had thought it through, and he was very pleased to welcome me onboard.

“Whenever I’ve visited the Showground as an opposing team manager I’ve always been made to feel very welcome. It’s such a friendly and professionally run club.

“Also appealing to me is that there is such a Danish rider connection. I’ve spoken to several riders who have ridden there – Nicki (Pedersen), Hans (Andersen), Kenneth (Bjerre) and NKI (Niels-Kristian Iversen) and they have also said what a great club it is to ride for, and that includes the fans, the management and the track itself.

“It’s just the whole feeling about the place to be honest, right from turning up at the front entrance where the person greeting you calls you by your first name and makes you feel so welcome. It’s really good – I like that.”

Staechmann believes his partnership with Swales, whose first full season as Panthers’ team manager was way back in 2004, will take little time to gel – and they are already in regular contact making plans for the campaign ahead.

He added: “I’ve known Trevor for a number of years. He’s easy to get on with and I’d like to think he feels the same about me.

“I don’t think we’ll have any difficulty in working together at all. We talk most days on the phone anyway, so already the relationship is going well.”