TEAM boss Jim Lynch vowed to lead a calm and considered review following Leicester’s 61-30 mauling at Somerset.
The Lions were 12 down after four heats with their fortunes summed up when number one Kim Nilsson unavoidably finished third behind team-mate Lasse Bjerre while on a tactical ride in heat five.
Newcomer Kyle Newman and Danny King ensured a 3-3 in heat six but the respite was short lived with three Rebels maximums arriving in the next four races on a dry and dusty track.
In a quirk of fate, Leicester bagged a 5-1 through Nilsson and top-performer Bjerre in heat 11 but that single point was enough to rubber stamp victory for the hosts.
The misery was piled on by another trio of Rebels 5-1s, with heat 12 bringing up a full maximum for Charles Wright, before Bjerre took the chequered flag his performance deserved in an academic final race.
Lynch pulled no punches in his post-meeting assessment but stopped short of questioning the desire of his wounded Lions.
“We were beaten by a much better team,” said Lynch. “The track was prepared 100 per cent for them, which any home team would do, and we simply did not cope with it.
“From beginning to end we were second best in virtually every department and did not adapt to the conditions. When they favour one team so much, the other sometimes doesn’t really go for it and perhaps we were caught in the wrong frame of mind.
“I don’t think it is about commitment. We have good riders in our team but when you hit a track that is so good for the home side, it can be difficult. Their advantage was huge.
“Kyle Newman came in and tried to impress. He is usually good around Somerset but found conditions difficult, whereas Lasse, who hasn’t been going so well in some meetings, likes it slick. There are no excuses or complaints, though.”
There are more than three weeks until Leicester return to the track with a televised home fixture against Swindon on Monday, July 17 (7.30) and Lynch is determined to use that time wisely.
“We have an extended break before our next fixture and need to look at some of the gaps that still remain,” he added. “There are lots of options we are still looking at but that doesn’t take away any of the disappointment.
“It is not a case of licking our wounds, we need to assess whether it was simply a bad day or we have to do something more to the team. That said, there are not many options left open to us.”
SOMERSET 61: Charles Wright 12, Richard Lawson 10, Adam Ellis 9+1, Josh Grajczonek 8+2, Jake Allen 8+1, Cameron Heeps 7+2, Kyle Howarth 7+2.
LEICESTER 30: Lasse Bjerre 10+1, Kim Nilsson 7+1, Danny King 5+1, Kyle Newman 4, Josh Bates 2, Todd Kurtz 2, Jason Garrity r/r.
