Soundbites: 7th August 2004

Ricky Ashworth

"We have to be up for these meetings, if we can't get motivated for a weekend like this then we never can. All the lads are looking forward to it and the meeting against Hull tomorrow will be like a cup final. We've been frustrated with our form, just like everyone else, in the past few weeks so this is a great chance for us to get it right."
Sheffield's Ricky Ashworth looks forward to a busy weekend

"Going into it, I knew that I couldn't disappoint the younger members in my team, I couldn't let them down. I said to myself `I have got to beat Jason and I will beat Jason. I am going to beat him'. I thought I had to make a good gate and leave Crumpie behind me and I managed to beat him. I did it."
Tomasz Gollob on his amazing last heat second place on Thursday

"We had never been in a race-off before and I don't particularly want to be in another. We made mistakes and they cost us - that's why we're out."
Jason Crump

"That was a great team effort but I honestly believe we will be even better at Poole. A lot of people have said it will be an advantage to compete in the race-off to get experience of the track there, but I disagree. I'm confident our team will be well suited by Poole and we can't wait for the final."
Hans Andersen

"It was disappointing to lose against Exeter, but we can still take plenty of positives from the past week or so. The riders and our supporters responded superbly to what happened, particularly after losing Matej on Sunday in the first leg. We have a fantastic spirit here and we will bounce back from this."
Reading team manager Ivan Shears reflects on defeat in the Premier Trophy final

"This is a great move for me. Riding in the Conference League with Boston has given me the confidence to step up and hopefully do well."
James Cockle - newest Glasgow Tiger

"Joe did very well on Monday but Neil Middleditch has decided to bring me in for the final. I wouldn't have argued if he didn't want to change a winning team, but he and Joe had a long chat and agreed it would be best for the team if I was called up. I've spoken to Joe - he was best man at my wedding - and he knows it's important to put the team first."
Havvy

"The club has lost a hell of a lot of money during the course of this season and hopefully this meeting will help offset some of those losses. I make no secret of the fact a lot of the riders are people we are very interested in bringing to the club and it is more than likely the majority of next season's team will be made up from those racing in the Super 2s."
Peterborough boss Trevor Swales on a fundraising pairs meeting he's staging to end the season

"I feel good myself about how things are going for me this year, I feel really confident at the moment. I'm happy with my equipment, so I'm enjoying it."
Craig Watson

"We would be interested in having Dicken back in the side. The rules, however, prevent us naming a new rider in the team if he is already on the injured list, as is the case here. Hopefully, we will get everything sorted out in the next few days after Lee has had a chance to fully test his knee under racing conditions."
Newcastle boss Daryl Illingworth on the Diamonds' restructuring

"We might as well encourage one of our own, instead of somebody else's. Sean had a bit of a dip in form when he rode for us before, but he was brilliant at Mildenhall and might as well be given another run."
Edinburgh promoter John Campbell gives Sean Stoddart the number seven jacket for the rest of the season

"Every trophy is important in a speedway rider's career. To be able to say you were part of a team which won something like this is very special. Hopefully a few years down the line I will be able to look back on Monday night with some pride."
Mark Lemon on Exeter's Premier Trophy win

"It feels like home here. This was an excellent win and everyone is absolutely delighted. We won the Premier Trophy and the Young Shield when I was first here but it's still great to win this again. It's also nice because five members of this team won the league championship in 2000. Mark Lemon and Nick Simmons are the only new-boys since then."
Graeme Gordon - another of the Falcons' winning side

"It's a nightmare. I've been told the bone in the shoulder is two inches too high and needs screwing back. I've also ripped ligaments over the top of the shoulder. It all needs fixing. At the moment I'm trying to get the operation sorted out but I don't know when it will be yet. Hopefully I'll be back before the season ends, but we'll have to see."
Danny Bird of Reading and Ipswich

"In hindsight it might have been better to have gone with Travis McGowan rather than Boycey. Ryan Sullivan also had an off night too. We have certainly learnt a lot of lessons from this year's World Team Cup."
Leigh Adams

"There's absolutely no chance of over-confidence and complacency setting in. Everyone in the dressing room is keeping their feet on the ground, especially those who have been at Vikings for a while. They can remember two seasons - one year when I got hurt - where we were on course for the title and it all went wrong due to injuries."
Ross Brady

"They're billing it like a championship decider, I can understand that, but win, lose or draw I don't think it'll mean much to us in the final analysis. Sheffield need the points to get into the play-offs."
Eric Boocock on Sunday's Sheffield v Hull clash

"My hand looks a mess and I can't grip with it still. But I'm having physiotherapy and I'm hopeful of getting back on a bike before the end of the season. My hand is covered in scars and I can't even shake hands properly, so there is no way I can get back on a bike just yet."
Michael Mitchell of the Stoke Spitfires

"The lad has proved everybody wrong. He is just so determined. Eight weeks ago he was in intensive care, now he is about to go back on the track."
Graham Drury on James Brundle

"I feel sure we can win all our home matches left and I am convinced we will win all the bonus points on offer. The secret will be in picking up as many away wins as we can from the seven trips we have left. Looking at the seven tracks we have to visit, I believe there is every chance we can win at six of them and that would make it very interesting at the top."
Workington boss Ian Thomas - Still fancying a title win

This article was first published prior to October 2002