Glasgow Tigers aiming for first league win in eight years

Glasgow’s speedway team is aiming to win its first league title of their 'new era' - competing against the only man to deliver the trophy for the side in a quarter of a century.

Glasgow take on Leicester in the second leg at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium, Springburn, at 7.30pm on Tuesday, October 22; with a 12 point deficit to overcome from the first leg in Leicester.

The Possilpark outfit have won the league only three times since 1946, including an iconic double in the mid-1990s.

Their only other victory came in 2011, led by Stewart Dickson, who managed and owned the Tigers for more than 15 years. Dickson is now in his first season as manager of Leicester Lions, having left Glasgow last season. They take on the Tigers over two legs in the play-off final this weekend to be named winners of the Speedway GB (SGB) Championship.

A win for Glasgow would crown the mammoth efforts of the Facenna family, who bought the club five years ago and have ploughed millions of pounds into their Ashfield Stadium home - but are yet to bag a league trophy.

Dickson, who still lives near Glasgow and makes weekly trips to the East Midlands, said:

“Was it inevitable it was going to be Glasgow v Leicester this season? Probably - maybe not so much with my connection, but they are the two best teams. In an ideal world it wouldn’t have been Glasgow we were facing in the final, just because of my previous connections. I need to put that to one side.

"Come 7.30 on Tuesday night, I don’t think it’ll be in any of the riders’ minds that Stewart Dickson used to be here, or vice-versa. I know the Glasgow owners certainly won’t want their old manager coming back and winning the league. At the same time, I’m desperate to win the first league title for Leicester, something they have never won before.”

The current Glasgow boss is Cami Brown – who served a brief spell as Dickson’s assistant before his departure early last season. Brown believes the club have never been more united in their goal of winning that elusive league title. He said:

“It’s the clash of the titans in our league - it’s huge. The Stewart Dickson factor doesn't really come into it for me, I just see Leicester as a major opponent and major threat. It’s the one I think everyone wanted to see, so let’s bring it on and see what happens. I think it will just take one team to have a little bit more form than the other, and that would be the deciding factor. You can look at individual riders and match them up, and overall there’s not a lot in it.

"Of course, people will talk about Stewart coming back to face his old club and it does add extra interest for the fans and media. My sole focus is on making sure my seven men are ready. I want Glasgow Tigers’ name on that Championship trophy. It would be a huge honour to become just the fourth manager in the club’s history to lift the title.”

“Friday was a tough night. We had no luck at all and there were a few dubious refereeing decisions that didn’t go our way. Craig Cook had an engine failure while leading a race and we didn’t seem to get the rub of the green.

“We haven’t downed tools yet at all and I can’t see us riding as badly at home - so I don’t think we’re out of it yet - even if Leicester might think they have done enough.

“The boys will do some practice on Monday to try to get dialed in to the track. We’ve come too far now not to give it our best shot in the second leg."