Panthers bidding to get out of drop zone
STAND-IN skipper Danny King insists Panthers don't intend languishing in the Elite League relegation zone for long.
STAND-IN skipper Danny King insists Panthers don't intend languishing in the Elite League relegation zone for long.The troubled city club dropped into the bottom two without turning a wheel on Friday night.
Coventry's narrow triumph over rock-bottom Wolverhampton carried them above Panthers but King and Co now have an immediate opportunity to redress the balance.
They travel to face Coventry in a crunch televised clash at Brandon tonight when the eyes of a nation will be fixed on a Panthers team racing without star rider Hans Andersen.
The Danish ace is currently serving a 14-day suspension after refusing to ride for the club until being paid a backlog of wages and sponsorship which runs into tens of thousands of pounds.
Panthers have drafted in another Dane – Poole man Bjarne Pedersen – to lead their assault on victory tonight and are also banking on a super performance from Kenneth Bjerre, who shone at this venue in a recent World Cup outing for Denmark.
King said: "We have to leave the politics to the promoters and bosses and concentrate on doing well out on the track.
"No-one wants to be in the relegation zone and hopefully we can perform well enough tonight to get a result and lift ourselves out of it.
"Kenneth was brilliant at Coventry in the World Cup and Bjarne is a very good guest who is renowned for riding well at that track – he'll certainly feel at home in our teams with all the Danes we have!
"Coventry are really struggling at home and they only just managed to beat Wolverhampton on Friday night.
"Hopefully we can take advantage of that and pick up a win which would give everyone a real boost as we try to turn our season around.
"All the pressure will be on Coventry and we want them to be back in the relegation zone at the end of the night.
"One meeting doesn't make a season and it won't be a disaster if we don't manage to win, but it is definitely our intention to get the points.
"Then we can concentrate on winning the many home meetings we have in hand and start climbing the table."
King is generally performing well during his first season as a heat leader in England and the 21 year-old is also making a name for himself on the continent.
He is racing regularly in the Polish second division for Ostrow and has made his debut in the Swedish Elitserien – widely regarded as the toughest league in Europe – in the past week after being snapped up by Smederna.
King scored three points in his first Swedish outing last Tuesday but followed up with a smashing 10+1 haul the following night when he even managed a victory over Andersen in a meeting against Dackarna.
"Riding on the continent is a great experience and I'm enjoying my racing," added King.
"I've had a few meetings in Poland and it was excellent to get the call from a Swedish team."I made it known I wanted to ride there this year and Smederna signed me in the transfer window they have over there in mid-season."
Squad rider Ty Proctor again steps into fill Panthers' reserve void at number seven tonight while Morten Risager makes his first return to Coventry since being dropped during last season.
Coventry also use their squad man Ben Barker who replaces injury victim Stan Burza.
Coventry: 1 Chris Harris, 2 Olly Allen, 3 Simon Stead, 4 Billy Janniro, 5 Rory Schlein, 6 Andreas Messing, 7 Ben Barker.
Panthers: 1 Bjarne Pedersen (guest), 2 Claus Vissing, 3 Kenneth Bjerre, 4 Henning Bager, 5 Danny King, 6 Morten Risager, 7 Ty Proctor.
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Weather for Peterborough
Thursday 18 March 2010
Today
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Temperature: 2 C - 8 C
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Wind direction: North west
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