The Lakeside Hammers, hit by an unprecedented injury crisis when within yards of the Play Off qualification line have unveiled their plan to secure a top two finish and then a place in the Play Off final.

Speaking on Friday Co-Promoter and Team Manager Jon Cook revealed that the Club had agreed a contract with a new addition (unnamed at present) to the Hammers side and talks were continuing with another target early next week with a view to both riders being in place for the away match at Peterborough on September 18th.

Cook stated: "The chase for a top two finish is all ours to lose at present since, if we can hold out at home, it will need Ipswich to win all their remaining meetings, including a visit to Poole, to draw level with us and then it will be down to race point aggregates. We are taking nothing for granted but obviously the picture becomes clearer each time Ipswich, and. to a lesser degree, Swindon, lose another away match. With this in mind I don't believe we can risk home advantage by drafting in new recruits for the meetings at the Raceway against Wolverhampton (5th September) and Belle Vue (10th September) as both have plenty yet to fight for and are, of course, small track teams. The riders we have earmarked will need a home match to get accustomed to our Raceway and with all due respect to Peterborough their visit on the 19th September and the meeting at their East of England Showground circuit on the 18th September are the right time to make changes. We have made our first signing with a two leg final against Poole in mind as that is our ambition and we feel his big track performance will compliment the small track scoring of riders like Leigh Lanham."

Cook continued: "Therefore, we will call upon the services of guest riders we know and trust for the next two home matches with our selection helped by the rise in average of our riders from the 1st September. I absolutely believe that this is the best way to get this Club into the top two and if results go our way we may be able to relax on the 18th and 19th and bed our new rider or riders in."

The Hammers line ups for the next two home matches are as follows:-
Wolverhampton Friday 5th September:
1. Andreas Jonsson 2. Leigh Lanham 3. Rider Replacement 4. Rory Schlein (Guest) 5. Lewis Bridger (Guest) 6. Ricky Kling 7. Lubos Tomicek (Kauko Nieminen is unavailable due to a clash with a Workington fixture)
Belle Vue Wednesday 10th September:
1. Andreas Jonsson 2. Leigh Lanham 3. Rider Replacement 4. Oliver Allen (Guest) 5. Edward Kennett (Guest) 6. Ricky Kling 7. Kauko Nieminen (Lubos Tomicek is unavailable due to Czech Republic recall)
Edward Kennett and Kauko Nieminen will also race for the Hammers on the 11th September in the away League match at Ipswich.