LEICESTER boss Stewart Dickson says the next 72 hours will be crucial for the Watling JCB Lions’ league ambitions, as they prepare to face Glasgow at Ashfield on Sunday.
The two sides last met at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium in the 2019 Play Off Final, where it was Leicester who triumphed to be crowned league champions.
Currently fourth in the table, Dickson is confident his riders can push themselves into the Championship top two, despite conceding a draw to Redcar on Friday.
He said: “A win at Redcar would’ve meant we could go to Glasgow searching for just the one league point to be satisfied with.
“We let the lead slip away from us, and we picked up only a couple points when we should’ve taken a lot more.
“That means I’ll be looking to the boys for an even bigger result against the Tigers; whether that’s to much to ask remains to be seen.
“But when we race the way we did against Redcar for the first ten heats, we can beat anybody home and away.
“We need to improve on that and go the full fifteen heats and I know this team is more than capable of carrying that through.
“Glasgow are building this up to be one of their toughest fixtures of the season and I need to make sure my boys are as up for it as they are.”
The Watling JCB Lions travel to Glasgow full of confidence after their 49-41 victory against Poole in the first leg of their Championship KOC semi-final clash.
The mouthwatering action at the Paul Chapman & Sons Arena lived up to the hype with both sides exchanging like-for-like blows from start to finish.
After gaining a comprehensive 6-point lead after two races, the Pirates were quick to respond and wipe out Leicester’s hard-fought advantage at the half-way stage.
The lead continued to swing from one side to the other, with plenty of deadlocks in between, and only a mere two points separated them with just four heats remaining.
But it was the Watling JCB Lions who emerged strongest at the business end of the night, with club No.1 Nick Morris bagging a flawless 15-point maximum.
Dickson said: “We looked to at one stage, have started very well but to then lose a 5-1 in Heat 3 meant all of our hard work was undone.
“But the lads showed great character to respond as they did. Top teams are hard to beat and we really hurt Poole in those last three heats.
“The racing was tough but fair, and it was very pleasing to see’ the boys stepping up to compensate for some of the lads who had an indifferent night.
“We’ve put ourselves in a decent position with this result, and we’ve given ourselves a very good chance in the second leg down at Poole.”
LEICESTER 49: Nick Morris 15, Hans Andersen 11+1, Ryan Douglas 8, Kyle Howarth 5, Joe Thompson 4+1, Zaine Kennedy 4, Dan Thompson 2.
POOLE 41: Steve Worrall 10, Ben Cook 9+3, Charles Wright 9, Danny King 7, Dillon Ruml 3+1, Danyon Hume 3+1, Benjamin Basso r/r.
