SWINDON Speedway CEO Mike Bowden has vowed that Robins fans will have a team worthy of their new stadium as the club hierarchy sit down to ponder their 2017 septet.

Bowden, co-owner Terry Russell and team boss Alun Rossiter are starting their team building in earnest this week following the conclusion of last week’s British Speedway summit meeting which thrashed out the rules and regulations for the sport for the coming 12 months.

The Robins already have an agreement in place with Jason Doyle to ride for the next two seasons, which was confirmed before the end of the 2016 campaign, but Bowden admits the management’s thinking regarding the rest of the group will have been altered by last week’s outcome.

With a 50-point limit agreed for the top division, which is being rebranded as the SGB Premiership, riders who only raced in the top flight in 2016 will see their average increased by a factor of 1.4 to bring them in line with Premier League averages.

The minimum average for foreign riders is now four, while teams will again have to include at least two British riders, with those who have never achieved a three-point average able to start next season on a two in both leagues.

The Robins also expanded their asset base towards the end of last season with the inclusion of 2016 reserve Stefan Nielsen but face a period of complex calculations to ensure they track the most competitive possible line-up for next season.

Bowden revealed the new points limit fell short of what his club had desired, but accepted that was a price worth paying for the inclusion of previous Premier League outfits Rye House and Somerset in the top flight next season.

“The 50-point limit on a complicated conversion rate is lower than Swindon would have chosen themselves, but the great news is that the first tier of speedway is sufficiently attractive to have persuaded Somerset and Rye House - two professionally-run clubs - to have come up,’’ he told the Adver.

“We understand why it has been done, and it has been set that way to recognise that the transition from the second tier to the top tier needs to be carefully managed.

“We hope and expect that in future seasons that points limit will go up.

“It makes it a bit harder (for the Robins to assemble the team they want) but I can promise all Swindon fans that me and Terry Russell will be sitting down with Rosco (Rossiter) to put together a competitive team for next year.

“Team building is Rosco’s area of responsibility but we will be meeting with him in the coming days to put together a competitive and exciting line-up.

“We want a team that is exciting on the eye and will bring out the best in the best in the sport of speedway.”