SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter has set new recruit Jack Smith a target of earning four points per meeting ahead of Robins’ trip to Belle Vue tomorrow (7.30pm).

Rossiter has swooped to secure the teenager’s services after losing Mitchell Davey to injury following a horrific crash at Birmingham last week.

Smith, who also races for Belle Vue Colts in the National League and Sheffield Tigers in the Championship, joins Robins after missing out on a team place in the Aces squad this season despite featuring for the club last year.

The 18-year-old will be available for all of Robins’ fixtures for the remainder of the season except for three home meetings, where Championship club Sheffield will have priority.

Rossiter said: “We’ve encountered a problem in the past where we can’t use a rider that will be racing elsewhere on a day when we’re at home.

“But looking at the fixtures, Jack will only be missing for three home meetings.

“We went to the committee and it’s been accepted.

“Other than Troy we have priority on all of our riders.

“That’s important because otherwise we’d be bringing in guests. We don’t want that, we want continuity.

“Jack has good experience and with some riders we’ve signed in the past their equipment hasn’t been up to scratch.

“But that’s not the case with Jack.”

Speedway runs in the family for Smith after his father Andy, a three-time British Champion, enjoyed three stints with the Robins in 1991, 1998 and 2004.

And the youngster appears to have every intention of following in his father’s footsteps after signing a deal with Polish club Rawicz for the 2018 season, adding to his British commitments.

Rossiter said: “Jack can gate and if he can get four or five points a night I will be very happy.

“He’s riding on the continent too so he has experience out there when he’s not racing in the UK.

“We were very limited with what we could do when Mitchell had his crash.

“I had two-and-a-half points to play with, that’s not a lot.

“It was a struggle but if I wanted to bring in a rider on a higher average I’d have to drop a rider currently in our team and I don’t want to do that.”

Meanwhile Rossiter confirmed he has exchanged text messages with Mitchell Davey following the Australian’s crash at Birmingham, which left him with a punctured lung, chipped vertebrae, a broken shoulder and broken ribs.

“He’s sent me a message and we’re all thinking of him,” said the Robins boss.

“He gave me the thumbs up on text which is good to see.”