LAKESIDE Hammers boss Stuart Douglas reflected on a disappointing 40-52 home defeat against the Ipswich Witches in philosophical fashion.
The Hammers were soundly beaten in the Craven Shield fixture on Friday, with Andreas Jonsson with an 11 point haul the only home rider to hit double figures.
"Maybe a wake up call like this is a good thing," said Douglass. "We're all gutted that the fantastic away performance in the afternoon has been rendered inconsequential by the turnover here, but maybe everyone was starting to believe the hype surrounding the club having been touted as bookies favourites. Ipswich are a very useful team this year and to win at their place is a tremendous achievement, but credit where it's due, they rode a very good return leg at the Arena and deserved their victory."
Douglas went on to add: "I'm just glad it is out of the way early in the season and gives us a chance to learn some lessons before the Elite League points are on the table. We as a team need to look at our performance tonight and ask some questions of ourselves. I don't expect to have to say this again this season."
He saved the bulk of his ire for the timing of the event, however. "Not only is it absurd to ask riders to put on a show at this time of the year, in totally unpredictable conditions, I am astonished that we are supposed to expect a bumper crowd on a miserable night in March where the wind chill is minus three. Speedway is a summer sport. You cannot expect people to enjoy themselves in sub arctic conditions. This ridiculous early start to the season must be addressed for next year. I feel for the fans out there.
"It was clear Ipswich struggled this afternoon on their home track which had not been watered in anticipation of the forecast rain. We, in turn struggled tremendously on our sodden track after the hailstone storm of Biblical proportions destroyed the top surface. The net result of this is if you didn't get out of the gate there was no racing line on which to pass an opponent. It wasn't racing tonight - it was a procession, and it was a direct result of starting the speedway season too early. In fact it was a massive credit to the track staff that the meeting went ahead at all."
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The Hammers boss went on to say that he and team manager Jon Cook had already spoken about what went wrong on Friday, and that measures were to be put in place in an effort to prevent a repeat performance.
"We shall regroup, stick together, look at the positives, eradicate the negatives, and continue to quietly make the forward progress that we have been achieving for over a year now," said Douglas.
The Hammers are back in action on Friday in the Craven Shield, when they entertain Peterborough, before Monday's Elite League trip to Belle Vue.
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