SPEEDWAY: Robins' vintage reserve (From Swindon Advertiser)

SPEEDWAY: Robins' vintage reserve

9:49am Thursday 12th June 2008 in Sport By Gareth Moorhouse

ALUN Rossiter believes his Swindon side may have "one of the finest reserve pairings in the Elite League" in the shape of James Wright and new recruit Manuel Hauzinger.

Five-times Austrian champion Hauzinger makes his Blunsdon bow this evening as the Robins look to avenge Saturday's 50-43 defeat to Eastbourne Eagles.

The 25-year-old turned down offers to join rivals Peterborough and Poole before signing for Swindon, and Rossiter insists Hauzinger can be a big hit with the Abbey Stadium crowd.

"Manuel seems really keen to be involved which is great news for us," he said.

"If he does adapt quickly, then we could arguably boast one of the finest reserve pairings in the Elite league, especially with James Wright enjoying such a rich vein of form.

"He's going for a skid in Birmingham before Thursday to get some practice in.

"He was there for a while last year where he went from the number seven to the number one spot in the space of two months.

"We're not expecting anything like that however, we just want somebody to average three or four points from the reserve berth.

"Theo did his best but for whatever reason things didn't work out for him.

"It certainly wasn't for the want of trying."

Despite seeing his Robins perched comfortably at the top of the Elite League tree, Rossiter has demanded more consistency from his riders.

The Swindon chief missed Saturday's defeat on the south coast to attend a friend's wedding in Poland - but the text reports he received from stand-in boss Gary Patchett did not make happy reading.

"I spoke to Gary about it and by all accounts our middle order was not firing. They will know they have underperformed," said Rosco.

"It was frustrating but I think Eastbourne is one of those tracks where you definitely have home advantage.

"People talk about Blunsdon, but Arlington is such a tough track.

"They've got the likes of Kennett, Woodward and Nicholls who have been there for a few years.

"I'm not really sure what to make of Eastbourne to be honest.

"One day they look like the team to beat, and then they go and get stuffed somewhere.

"It's very difficult to predict because this league is so up and down.

"I can't work out where some of these results are coming from.

"We just need to make sure we are more consistent. We can't afford to lose any more meetings at home."

Eastbourne skipper and Swindon asset Lee Richardson is available again after recovering from a wrist injury, while the Eagles also boast Scott Nicholls and Edward Kennett, who finished first and second respectively in the recently staged British Final at Blunsdon.