The bigger they come, the harder they fall.
So the saying goes – and that’s the feeling of Glasgow team boss Stewart Dickson after a season where the Tigers just fell short of a haul of trophies in their first campaign of a new era.
But Dickson insists the Tigers are here to stay – and will continue to push their rivals all the way in the seasons to come.
Glasgow went into 2015 on the crest of a wave, following the winter takeover and makeover from Allied Vehicles’ Gerry and Michael Facenna.
And although they didn’t quite make it back to the shore on that crest, it was still a remarkable turnaround from recent campaigns on and off the track.
Dickson said: “At the end of last season there was obviously uncertainty.
“I think we got the news in early November that we were getting kept on – but not just kept on in the traditional sense that we’ve had before.
“The noises coming out were that it was going to be bigger and better than ever. We went from one extreme to the other.
“I don’t know what the owners think of their first 12 months – but for me, the first thing I’ve noticed is that there is a weight of expectation around my shoulders. I don’t know if I’ve ever had that before in the same sort of way. We’re all geared up for success and it’s my job to try and get it.
“Folk will say it’s been a good season because of where we got to – two finals and finished third. For me, we never went the wee extra bit, which I was hoping we would do.
“It was a good season but the further you get, the bigger the disappointment comes and that’s the problem. Somerset got put out in the semis and they must have been pig sick at that but seven days later it was our turn, because we lost out in the final.
“But that can happen in any sport and any final. It’s just the way it is.”
The club made it’s on-track intentions clear early on when it went out and bought both Richard Lawson and Aaron Summers as club assets to fill two of the three heatleader slots. Dickson added former Tiger Nick Morris to the third heatleader position and fellow 21-year-olds James Sarjeant and Victor Palovaara, to start at reserve. Likeable Aussie Kozza Smith and hotshot asset Dimitri Berge completed a septet that many felt could compete for silverware.
In the end, a third-placed finish in the league was probably a decent outcome after the original seven were broken up early in the campaign when Smith crashed out with serious injuries that ended his season.
Berge then departed, Dickson citing a loss of confidence for the young Frenchman, meaning Glasgow were now having to find replacements.
In Berge’s place came Hynek Stichauer, who proved to be a good addition at reserve – steady if unspectacular – but it was the No 4 position that caused the team the most trouble as first David Howe, then Kauko Nieminen, both struggled to fulfil their duties due to their own ailments.
Despite that, the Tigers got themselves over the line and into the play-offs, as well as securing their place in a mouth-watering League Cup Final against Edinburgh.
The less said about that fixture, the better, as the Glasgow men were battered by their rivals – but they made amends in the following weeks when they dispatched Plymouth, then Somerset, in front of massive home crowds to set up the biggest Scottish derby of all time in the Premier League Championship Final.
Again, it was Edinburgh who triumphed – but Dickson is now insistent that this was only the start of his side’s challenge to the Monarchs, who’ve reigned supreme over Premier League speedway for so long.
He said: “I remember Josh Grajczonek said to me after the Somerset meeting, you’ve got to the final, that’s a big achievement in itself. And I thought, I suppose it is.
“But to lose to your nearest and dearest twice in two finals – I know I would have been ecstatic if we had beaten them twice – we’re hurting on those results-wise. We came so close.
“There was a lot of hype, that was to be expected and that will calm down. But the level of expectation I think will remain the same.
“Edinburgh will know we’re not going away – this is going to be a sustainable challenge. We expect to be up towards the dizzy heights of the Premier League every year.”
The Tigers may have been left smarting in the end but Dickson believes that this was a season in which there were no lows in Glasgow – the only sour note coming away from Ashfield in the form of the horrific injuries sustained by Darcy Ward in a crash in Poland.
Dickson added: “I remember shaking his hand as a 16-year-old boy when he lowered the track record at Glasgow. Our results become small beer when you compare it to what happened to Darcy. He’s one of my favourite riders to watch and indeed he’s probably a lot of people’s favourite.
“But at Glasgow, even taking into consideration we lost a couple of finals, it was highs all the way for me. What a feeling turning up here and knowing it was going to be a good day.”