SWINDON boss Alun Rossiter is not panicking after the Robins suffered their first rain-off of 2013 last night.

The Elite League champions’ home clash with Belle Vue fell victim to the heavy rain, and although the track was raceable when checked yesterday afternoon, the showers were here to stay and the decision was made to call-off the meeting.

During their title-winning season the Robins endured 21 rain-offs in total, and after suffering so much doom and gloom last season Rossiter is staying relaxed this time around.

“The weather just didn’t play ball with us in the end, although the track was fine,” he said.

“It was chucking it down when we decided to call it off, and the riders all knew it was in for the night and we weren’t going to be able to get out there and race.

“We had so many rain-offs last season, but one so far this season is no harm because we have plenty of time to go.

“Gary and I will sit down and rattle through a few dates, and although next Thursday is a reserve date I think a few of our riders have commitments elsewhere.”

The postponement will also limit the number of meetings injured Aussie Nick Morris will miss having broken his collarbone on Monday, but Rossiter won’t rush the youngster back.

“Nick has taken some time away which is good, and obviously him being injured is still a blow for us,” he said.

“The benefit of the meeting being off is that he will miss less meetings, but I am not going to rush him back and I will only bring him in when he is 100 per cent fit.

Reserve Ashley Birks was the only Robins rider to arrive at the Abbey Stadium yesterday before the meeting was called off, and now faces a gruelling travel schedule ahead of Monday’s British Final at Wolverhampton.

After hearing of the postponement Birks returned to Sheffield last night before potentially having to travel to Plymouth today to ride for Scunthorpe, and then heads to Glasgow on Sunday to ride for the Scorpions before taking on the best of British in the West Midlands.

“It is always frustrating to have meetings called off, because it costs a lot in diesel and getting mechanics out and that sort of thing,” he said.

“Once it was called off we thought about staying down here to make the journey to Plymouth shorter, but the weather down there looks awful too so we decided to go back with it likely to be called off.

“We are at Glasgow on Sunday, and then it’s the British Final which I am looking forward to.”