ELLIS: WE NEED TO KEEP WINNING

SWINDON ROBINS extended their lead at the top of the Premiership table to four points following last night’s victory over the Rye House Rockets. TotalSport Swindon’s Ryan Walker spoke to Swindon’s Adam Ellis to get his thoughts on the win.

A difficult evening for the Swindon Robins saw them eight points down after nine heats, before eventually coming from behind to secure their seventh league win of the season. And when questioned, Ellis was honest in his review.

“It was a difficult evening,” said Ellis.

“It was one of those nights where nothing seemed to be going right for us, and the track didn’t help either.

“I think it was missing some clay, which made it hard to race on.”

“Once the track is sorted then hopefully the racing will be more consistent,” he added.

Last racing each other in a Knockout Cup match just three weeks ago, as Swindon dominated the Essex side with a twenty-two-point deficit the difference, many were expecting an easy victory for the Robins. And Ellis admitted that the away team surprised him and his teammates.

“We knew Rye House were coming here wanting to prove a point after last time,” said Ellis.

“And it certainly wasn’t as easy as that night three weeks ago was.

“We didn’t expect it to be that hard against them and we had to work in the end.

“It was nice to get the win but we need to be on the ball from the start next time,” he added.

A tactical change in heat nine with Captain Nick Morris replacing David Bellego started the comeback as Swindon went on to score thirty-three-points from the last seven heats. And when discussing the result, Ellis was full of praise for his fellow riders.

“We’ve got Nick [Morris,] Toby [Musielak,] and Batch [Batchelor,] all in the team and they are scoring good points,” stated Ellis.

“When they are all featuring in heats come the end of the night then it means we have a strong rider in every heat.

“Zach [Wajtknecht] in reserve can go out and beat anyone, which is great.

“And it’s great to see us come on strong at the end of a meeting once again,” he added.

Thursday’s victory ensured Swindon moved four points clear at the top of the British Premiership table, however Ellis warned not to get carried away and highlighted the importance of scoring as many points as possible.

“You always want to be top of the table, but it’s all quite bunched up at the top,” said Ellis.

“We can’t afford to settle because there are so many teams within close range of us.

“If we were to have a couple of bad weeks then we could be out the top four.

“We need to make sure we keep winning meetings and putting points on the board,” he added.

A tough week for Swindon’s number two saw Ellis score just three points in Monday’s British Championship final, and when asked on his recent form Ellis admitted he has struggled recently.

“My riding has been a lot better than last year, but this week has been the hardest week for me this season and I’m not sure what’s been happening,” he admitted.

“I didn’t have the best night at the British final on Monday and I’ve not really found anything good since.

“Hopefully I can improve throughout the remainder of this week and come back to the Abbey next Thursday with a bit more confidence,” he said.