Peterborough Panthers team boss Jan Staechmann is convinced the club can assemble a top-notch team from within for 2013.
Staechmann is refusing to dwell on the disappointment of a difficult first season at the city club.
Panthers were plagued by a torrid run of injuries as they missed out on the Elite League play-offs for the fourth time in five seasons. They then came within a whisker of a place in the much-maligned KO Cup final.
The dust has barely settled on the 2012 season but former World Cup-winning Danish national boss Staechmann is already plotting a more memorable campaign next time around.
And he insists using as many riders as possible from the club’s own enviable asset base is a must. Panthers boast a wealth of talent spearheaded by Danish big-guns Hans Andersen, Niels Kristian Iversen and Kenneth Bjerre, all-time great Ryan Sullivan and rising Swedish star Linus Sundstrom.
Staechmann said: “Considering our horrendous luck with injuries, I don’t think we could have done much more this year.
“But we obviously want to make next year better and we have a good idea of what we would like to do, but it is a case of waiting to see whether or notthe rules will allow it.
“The talk is that the points limit for team building will again be set at 42.50 and I think that is a very workable figure.
“I certainly wouldn’t be in favour of seeing that number reduced as I do not feel that diluting the product is the way to go.
“We have a fantastic base of assets and it makes very good sense to use as many of our own riders as possible.
“Within reason every rider on our books is in our plans at the minute and I know for a fact that there are plenty of other riders out there who would be very keen on coming to ride for Peterborough.
“That is testament to the great work done by the promotion here.”
Andersen, in particular, is likely to feature prominently in Panthers’ plans for next year.
He was overlooked by the club last winter before being allowed to move on loan to a Swindon side he led to the Elite League title.
Staechmann is pressing on with the task of building a team capable of challenging for honours even though Panthers’ future remain far from certain.
Owners Rick Frost and Julie Mahoney have again stressed that no concrete decision on whether or not the club race next year will be made until the British Speedway Promoters’ Association (BSPA) annual meeting later this month.
More immediately the club stages it’s end-of-season ‘Panthers Party’ tomorrow night at the Parkway Club in Maskew Avenue.
The event will feature the traditional dishing out of awards. Sundstrom is a hot favourite to claim the rider-of-the-year gong.
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