IPSWICH Witches fans will enter Foxhall Stadium Thursday night wondering which Witches team is going to turn up.

IPSWICH Witches fans will enter Foxhall Stadium Thursday night wondering which Witches team is going to turn up.

The impressive one that beat the likes of Somerset and more recently thrashed Glasgow.

Or the hapless one that has already lost two Premier League meetings this season.

It’s a conundrum that is no longer funny as the Witches entertain Berwick in a KO Cup, quarter-final clash (7.30pm), that they not only need to win, but need to win big.

The Witches are either going through a crisis of confidence or have all secretly won the lottery – so much so they don’t need to score points on the track to make ends meet.

That’s being flippant of course, but the serious issue facing the Witches and the Witches management right now is that aggregate defeat to Berwick in this KO cup clash, after the second leg on Saturday night, will be a huge dent in the season’s hopes.

Ipswich riders need to step up to the plate.

Experienced men like Kevin Doolan, Leigh Lanham, Mat Tresarrieu and Morten Risager need to lead from the front.

The likes of Rohan Tungate (in his debut season) and Cameron Heeps (just 16) are exempt from criticism, while teenager Dakota North – if he seriously wants to ride in the Elite League next year – needs to be able to show potential EL clubs he can hold down a heat-leader position in a Premier League team first.

It’s simply a crucial few days, with a meaningless trip to Plymouth in the League Cup sandwiched in between tomorrow night.

Chris Louis has said his piece on what he expects from his team, and with Taylor Poole waiting in the wings, Witches riders shouldn’t really need any more of a ‘pep’ talk.

WHAT do you think. E-mail me: mike.bacon@archant.co.uk