Thursday November 25, 2021
PETERBOROUGH fans can expect news of the team to defend their Premiership title soon.

Now the dust has settled on a stunning season of racing at the East of England Arena, club bosses are almost in a position to reveal their 1-7.

It has already been confirmed the Premiership will remain at six clubs with a 39-point limit for six riders plus a rising star.

Both Dale Allitt and manager Rob Lyon have burnt the midnight oil piecing the team together with many of last season’s ‘Dads Army’ keen to return to Alwalton.

Allitt said: “Team building is ongoing, and we’re making good progress. We’d like to be able to announce the full team before Christmas if possible.

“Rob has identified that we would like to keep the same team as far as we can, and we are well underway with that work.

“We know how the fans took to the riders this year, that was very obvious, and we have a few things in mind on how we can carry that on into 2022, even though obviously Bjarne won’t be there next year.

“Hopefully we’ll be in a situation very soon where we can name riders, and our intention is also to release season ticket details for people to be able to buy in time for Christmas.”

Allitt has been in talks with several riders regarding joining the club to replace Bjarne Pedersen who has retired.

Meanwhile Allitt has also moved to clarify his role with both Panthers and King’s Lynn working for club owner Keith Chapman.

And he insists Lynn boss Alex Brady and Panthers counterpart Lyon have final say on the team they select.

He said: “All I can say is that by having Alex and Rob there, we have two team managers who are responsible for the teams, and both are very motivated and dedicated to what they do, and they want to win at all costs.

“They identify who they want rider-wise, and we talk it through, but they are responsible for the teams now. Obviously, we have parameters to work to with budgets and so on, because we won’t pay more than we can afford, but that’s how we now work.

“I don’t deny that mistakes have been made at all levels over the last 12 months, but this is the only way going forward, with the managers having full responsibility for who they want in the team.

“I’ve spent an awful of time with Alex at King’s Lynn to address the issues there, and likewise as Rob said recently, we spent hours and hours on the ‘phone going through permutations at Peterborough, so I’m heavily involved with both managers as sounding boards, but they have full control of their teams.”