Joel Andersson ready for fresh challenge as Edinburgh Monarchs face Brummies

And one suspects if Monarchs are going to win on the road, then Birmingham will be in their sights.

Like Monarchs, they have struggled to find form so far and recently made two changes to their line-up in a bid to kick-start their campaign after seven straight losses in all competitions.

They brought in Adam Ellis and reserve Nathan Stoneman, replacing Tobias Thomsen and Kyle Newman, and feel they have now found the right blend to bring about an upturn in their fortunes.

For Edinburgh Monarchs’ likeable Swede Joel Andersson, the Birmingham fixture is going to present him with a fresh challenge.

He said: “I have never been to Birmingham before and going to new tracks is not easy especially when they are so different to what I’m used to back in Sweden.

“It can take a couple of heats just to figure out how to race the track.”

Andersson picked up six points as Monarchs tamed the Lions last Friday and his second place in heat 14 virtually sealed the match for Monarchs, who were ten points in front at one stage during the second half.

Said Andersson: “A win is a win and I think we did a good job. We might have scored more. I’m thinking of heat 12 when Luke (Ruddick) fell off when in a 5-1 position, but such things happen.

“We managed to gain the victory and that’s the only thing that is important.”

Andersson admitted his start to the season hasn’t been all plain sailing, admitting he has scored better away from home than at Armadale.

”Everyone in the team has struggled a little so far this season,” he said, “so the Leicester match was a good and important one for us to win.

“The team have had a rough start to the season but there is a long way to go and I think we will be okay and we are already through to the KO Cup semi-finals.”

Andersson feels he is improving with every match and added: ”I felt I was gating quite well then losing drive into the corners. But it’s getting better every week and I’m happy, and I believe we have a good team.

“I remember when I first joined Monarchs last year, I was probably a bit cocky. I was riding against guys who I had never heard of before and imagined riding for the first time in Britain would be quite easy!”