Stewart Dickson, the new team manager of Berwick Jewson Bandits, has challenged Drew Kemp to up his game this season.
Glasgow visit Shielfield Park on Saturday (7pm) in the BSN Series and Berwick’s mechanical team believe they have sourced the problems which restricted Kemp’s scoring in last weekend’s Border Trophy series against Workington Comets.
Kemp (pictured by Taz McDougall) was down on power but accumulated 11 points over the two matches in which Berwick claimed the silverware, but demanding Dickson wants more.
He also manages the 21-year-old rider at Premiership level with Leicester Lions and Kemp has also endured a frustrating start to the season there.
Dickson has challenged the three-time British Under-19 champion to take his career onto the next level in 2024 by finding consistency and the team boss said: “Drew has been at the same level for the past couple of seasons and this is the year he has to push on.
“Most riders have what I call a jump year, the one where they concentrate on stepping up to the next level, and 2024 needs to be Drew’s jump year.”
He could find it tough against Tigers, a side packed with former Bandits, and the West of Scotland combine arrive having won the last 13 meetings between the sides in all competitions.
Chris Harris and Berwick-born Leon Flint are Bandits’ previous two captains while Lee Complin and Paul Starke both had successful spells in the yellow and black.
Reserve Ace Pijper began his professional career with the club’s National Development side, the Bullets, as a 15-year-old and former Edinburgh Monarchs star Steve Worrall and James Pearson have scored well on the Borders track in the past.
Dickson said: “The Border Trophy was a useful warm-up but our season starts here. I don’t expect us to score 56 points again this week, but we have the benefit of two meetings and there were promising signs last weekend.
“It was a real seven-man effort against Workington. Lewi (Kerr) and Rory (Schlein) had a middle of the road night on Saturday but the other five scored 45 points between them. On Sunday, they led from the front and saw us over the line in Cumbria.”
He added: “Everyone knows their job and, if we do it to the best of our ability, then we are a match for any side, including the reigning play-off champions.
“Glasgow come with plenty of track knowledge and that winning streak behind them, but this is a new Bandits side and one which doesn’t carry the scars of previous losses.”
Bandits: Lewi Kerr, Danyon Hume, Jye Etheridge, Drew Kemp, Rory Schlein, Freddy Hodder, Bastian Borke
Tigers: Chris Harris, James Pearson, Leon Flint, Paul Starke, Steve Worrall, Lee Complin, Ace Pijper
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