ALUN Rossiter has promised that Ashley Birks is ‘one for the future’ after swooping for the Sheffield-born youngster ahead of the 2013 Elite League campaign.

Birks is a former motocross rider who switched to speedway three years ago after injury prevented him from carrying on in the former sport.

He spent last season at Scunthorpe and even guested for Swindon in their 60-33 thrashing of Wolverhampton in June, scoring two paid three.

The 22-year-old will double up with the Scorpions in 2013 and Blunsdon boss Rossiter is looking forward to seeing the youngster in action at the Abbey Stadium.

“He’s only been in speedway a short time so we might have to persevere for a bit, but we certainly see something in him,” said Rossiter.

“I can see potential in him and I’m hoping he can fulfil that when he settles in and starts riding on a regular basis.

“He came to my house with Nick (Morris, his teammate at Scunthorpe last year) a couple of times and you get a feel of someone.

“When he rode for me against Wolverhampton I liked his attitude and approach to everything.

“From what I’ve seen and the feedback I’ve had, I’ve got a good feel about him. He’s one for the future.”

Meanwhile, Rossiter has confirmed that Swindon are out of the race to sign Polish starlet Tobiasz Musielak.

The Robins were hoping the 19-year-old would be assessed on a four-point average, but instead he has been handed a six-point average.

And Rossiter said: “Six points is just too much to be fair.

“You only have to look at (Maciej) Janowski, he’s on a six-point average after two seasons here and he’s world under-21 champion.

“Yes, we’ve had the anomalies where riders have jumped up from four to seven but you have to have a bit of growth in a rider, otherwise we’re going to end up freezing riders out.

“We’re going to struggle for riders if their averages are assessed too high.”