ALUN Rossiter believes the eagerness of riders to return to Swindon Robins is a clear sign that the club operate in the right way.

Rossiter had no problems persuading four of his 2018 team to stay on for the coming season, which gets under way in April, with Troy Batchelor, Tobiasz Musielak, Adam Ellis and Zach Wajtknecht all opting to stay on at the Abbey Stadium.

The latter trio of that group were also members of the Swindon team who were crowned SGB Premiership champions in 2017, with five of that seven-man title-winning squad remaining at Blunsdon for the defence of the crown last term.

Rossiter takes the show of faith from riders in the club as a compliment to how they operate, with the Robins team manager also believing supporters are appreciative of that level of continuity within the roster too.

“It’s nice when riders want to come back to the club. Sometimes it doesn’t always work that way, but it is a sign that you must be doing something right when they do,” said Rossiter.

“We have had a bit of continuity over the last three or four years. Last season, five of the 2017 team that won the league came back.

“And now for this coming season, we have got four of the riders who were here last season.

“It is good to have that, and I think the supporters do like that bit of continuity where they can relate to a rider.

“When I used to ride, you’d end up being at a club for quite a while. Now it is just a numbers game and you always see people coming in and out.

“At Swindon, we seem to have that bit of continuity, but have also been able to keep it fresh where we try to make sure we are strong enough to challenge for the play-offs.”

One of three team changes for the Robins in 2019 is the return of former world champion Jason Doyle to the roster.

Swindon’s reserve riders – James Shanes and Zach Wajtknecht – are aged 21 and 20 respectively, while Adam Ellis will have only just turned 23 by the time the new season starts.

Rossiter says Australian ace Doyle is the ideal man for his young charges to learn from and has urged them to tap into the Grand Prix star’s knowledge in order to improve their own on-track performances.

“As long as the youngsters listen, Jason is always happy to give feedback – I know that for a fact. He is a very good team man and a very good leader,” said Rossiter.

“I think we have got riders in our team that if they went to Jason, he would always give them that support and help that they might need, and they would absolutely take on board what he said.”

Swindon begin the new SGB Premiership season on Thursday, April 11 when they host Belle Vue Aces at the Abbey Stadium.