ALUN Rossiter says now is the time for his Swindon Robins riders to do their talking on the track as the new speedway season kicks into gear at the weekend.

Swindon begin the 2017 SGB Premiership campaign on Saturday with a trip to Leicester Lions and will do so with five new riders on their roster.

Only skipper Jason Doyle and fellow Australian Nick Morris have been retained from last year’s septet, with Adam Ellis, David Bellego, Bradley Wilson-Dean, Emil Grondal and Zach Wajtknecht all new arrivals over the winter.

Team manager Rossiter admits it is a case of sink or swim for his troops and hopes they step up to the mark as soon as possible, although he is not afraid to make changes if they don’t.

“It is down to them now. I have done my bit and I have picked them, now it’s down to them to prove I made the right choice,” said Rossiter.

“They have to show me what they can do and if I have to make changes, I will make changes. I don’t particularly want to go down that route because I have put these seven riders together and I hope these seven riders click as a team.

“There is no timing on something like that. When it comes down to those decisions, we just have to do what we have to do for the good of the team.

“It is not a nice scenario to be in but we have got the paying public coming through the turnstiles and if the team is losing, then the team is not good enough, so we will have to look at it.

“I am not looking at it like that at the moment, I am looking at the team doing well, and hopefully they will do.”

After a long winter putting his new-look Robins team together, Rossiter is itching to get going again and cannot wait for the curtain raiser at Beaumont Park tomorrow.

“Normally after Christmas, things move very quickly, but this year, I feel it’s been dragging a bit – I don’t know why,” he added.

“Once you’re into January, you blink and the season is here but this year, it seems to have taken forever.

“I don’t mind it and I certainly think it is a better idea to start the season a bit later as it can be a bit iffy sometimes with the weather earlier in the year.

“Up at the Abbey on a cold night in the middle of March, if I don’t want to be stood out there, the supporters definitely won’t want to be stood out there.”

Doyle and Morris will kick off the new season for Swindon when they compete in the SGB Premiership Pairs competition at Somerset Rebels’ Oaktree Arena this evening.