ROBINS boss Alun Rossiter heaped praise on maximum-man Troy Batchelor as he inspired his side to an impressive 52-41 victory away at King’s Lynn last night.

The Australian won all five of his rides at the Norfolk Arena as the Robins claimed all four Elite League points, moving them to within one point of title rivals Poole Pirates at the top of the table.

Dawid Lampart scored 9+1 and skipper Hans Andersen totalled eight as the Robins dominated the meeting from start to finish, with only an impressive 8-1 from former Robin Maciej Janowski and Kevin Wolbert in heat 12 making the scoreline respectable for the home side.

But it was Batchelor who grabbed the headlines, and Rossiter was full of praise for a man who has turned his form around following a difficult start to the season.

“Troy was absolutely awesome,” he said.

“He made a couple from the gate but he also came from the back superbly to win some races, and it was like watching the Troy Batchelor of old.

“That was the Troy Batchelor I brought to Swindon and the guy I have stuck my neck out for, because he is capable of performances like this and I am so proud of him.

“But the rest of the guys rode superbly too, and you have to give a lot of credit to people like Simon Stead who has dug deep and made a few changes, and they seem to be working.

“Jason Doyle had a good night too, and if it wasn’t for a couple of ignition problems Peter Kildemand would have scored some big points.

“We put him in in heat 15 just to check he was over his problems, because he was leading races and had to retire, and we want him to be right.”

Despite the superb victory, Rossiter was quick to highlight an error he made during the meeting, and vowed to learn from it as soon as possible.

“I should have put Dawid Lampart into heat 12 instead of Lasse (Bjerre), but I was just trying to be nice and keep the spirits up.

“But they have gone and scored a tactical 8-1 in the heat, and I need to start being ruthless.

“It was a mistake by me, but I will learn from it, because at this stage of the season you need to be ruthless.”

The Robins host Rossiter’s former club Coventry this evening, and the Swindon boss believes his side need to be at the top of their game if they are to continue their impressive run.

“It is certainly going to be tough because they ride Swindon well, and I brought them here and did some good things over the last few years.

“The Bees got a 45-45 draw out of Peterborough which is impressive, so we will have to be at our very best if we are going to take the points.”

Robins skipper Hans Andersen will miss this evening's meeting after suffering an arm injury in heat 13 in Norfolk, with Rory Schlein stepping in as a guest.