The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Panthers seek a new rider in time for the play-offs
Peterborough Panthers team boss Rob Lyon has confirmed the club are actively looking for a new signing to replace injury victim Ulrich Ostergaard.
The hugely popular Dane, whose average rocketed in the first half of the season, is out for the remainder of the campaign with the serious back injuries he suffered in a smash at Edinburgh last month.
Panthers have mainly covered for his absence with the rider replacement facility and maintained their play-off charge with spectacular wins at Belle Vue and King’s Lynn – before Danny King guested in Monday’s thrilling victory over Wolverhampton, which secured a top-flight play-off finish for the first time since 2010.
Although King’s Ipswich side are out of the play-off race, he will not be an option for Panthers in September as his average is set to rise.
But Lyon says the forward planning started some time ago as he is understandably reluctant to go into a play-off tie as a six-man side, with the risk attached that another rider is hurt during those meetings.
And with some clubs’ foreign seasons now winding down, additional options could become available.
Lyon said: “We’ve discussed it many times and we’re already planning for what we can do in terms of Ulrich’s situation. It’s a topic of conversation every day at the moment.
“Rider replacement has served us well, and the boys have responded magnificently, but it’s not what we want to go into the play-offs with, and we need to do something about it.
“We’ve been looking for the last couple of weeks or so and we will bring someone in if we can. But that person has to be the right rider, the right personality, the right experience, and if that doesn’t happen then we will run with guests as we go into the play-offs.
“We’ll see how it goes.
We’re working really hard to get someone in.”
Lyon paid credit to his side for ending Premiership leaders’ Wolverhampton’s nine-game winning streak in a thrilling contest at the East of England Arena on Monday.
Panthers also kept the race for top spot alive by ensuring their visiors didn’t even get a bonus point.
Lyon said: “It was always going to be tough. Wolverhampton are top for a reasonand they are a solid outfit so to win and for them to go home with nothing was a special result for us.
“We had a little chat after Heat 10 and we knew we had inside gates in three of the last five races and we needed to take advantage of that.
“We really wanted it done and dusted before Heat 15 because we knew they’d have one and three, but we chose right, and sometimes you get heroes in meetings.
“Certainly Hans Anderson and Bomber (Harris) were that and it meant we are alive and kicking in the race for top spot.”