STEWART Dickson says Glasgow owe it to their fans to “give it a go” against Sheffield tomorrow – despite facing a huge task to make the SGB Championship playoffs final.
The Ashfield side are 59-31 behind in their semi-final after a heavy first-leg defeat on Thursday night.
Dickson has called up James Sarjeant as a guest at No 6 again, following his outstanding performance at Owlerton, while either Jack Smith – if he’s fit – or Alfie Bowtell will ride at No 7.
Glasgow are still without Nike Lunna, with rider replacement in operation, but hope that newly-crowned National League Riders’ Champion Dan Bewley will continue his excellent form from the weekend.
Dickson admits it’s a tough ask to turn over the league’s top side – but insists they’ll give it a go nonetheless.
“I’ve always said we are all together as a team, but I need to see signs that they riders want it as much as I want it and the owners want it,” he said.
“I need to see that and I need to make sure the rest of the season doesn’t fade away.
“Tomorrow night we are the underdogs, but it’s not quite done yet, and if you say it quickly, it sounds good: 15 4-2s to us and we’re through 60-30.
“Until it’s mathematically impossible we’re going to have to give it a go. We owe it to our supporters, we have to have a go.
“I’m under no illusions, but we need to get a win first and foremost – and try to get a couple of the boys firing again.”
If they miss out on booking a final place against Ipswich, the Tigers can still aim to retain the KO Cup – with a quarter-final against last year’s final opponents Newcastle being lined up.
Dickson hopes that a good showing tomorrow could help boost his side’s chances in that competition.
He said: “We are the proud holders of the KO Cup and you can be assured Newcastle won’t have any sympathy for Glasgow.
“We want to try and hold onto that trophy, because I don’t think we can be as bad as we have been of late. I’d like to see us get the confidence up and have another go.
“Dan Bewley, unfortunately for us, had his first match back on Thursday after his injury. He needed to have a meeting under his belt before then to get up to full speed.
“I’d expect him to score a lot more in the home leg tomorrow, and Richie Worrall and Aaron Summers will as well. We need to get a win tomorrow – we’ll get out there and try to make it happen.
“I’ve been in this game 17 years and I know it’s going to be tough. You just never know, but we’re going to need all the luck in the world.”
The meeting gets under way at 7.30pm.
Ipswich narrowly beat Edinburgh over two legs to make the final, with the Witches due to host their home leg of the final this Saturday night.