Josh Pickering finds form just as Edinburgh Monarchs need everybody

Pickering scored a paid 11 which downed Eastbourne Eagles at Armadale last Friday and followed this up with a return of 11 for his Polish club, Wilki Krosno, 48 hours later. “A good weekend for me”, was how he described it.

A shoulder injury which has punctuated his campaign this year has prevented Pickering from making more regular outings for Krosno, but he said: “It was good to go out and ride for them. There was no pressure on me so I had some fun and showed them what I was capable of.

“I have a two-year contract with them this year and next and in order to get better in this sport you have you have got to compete against top riders. Poland is the pinnacle of speedway and the more experience I can get out there the better it is for me.”

Pickering is unclear what his plans are for 2020, saying: “I’m just taking it as it comes. We still have to finish this season first. If Edinburgh would like to sign me again we can chat about it. Or something else might come along that would work better for me.

“I’m not too worried about things right now.”

Monarchs face Birmingham Brummies at Armadale this evening and Pickering dismissed the notion that the boat has already sailed regarding the play-off hopes.

“If we win all our remaining matches both home and away we will make it.”

Skipper Ricky Wells put in a much more solid performance against Eastbourne last week and was unbeaten in his three rides as Monarchs triumphed 51-27. He said: “It was a good win. But we will require some drastic away results in the meetings we have left if we are to finish in the top four.

“So I need to get my act together and start scoring away from home. I’m still struggling with an old shoulder injury much more than I should be.

“It doesn’t seem to be getting any better. The track was a bit difficult last week after all the rain but we got all three points and that is all that mattered.”