TEAM boss Cami Brown believes the MAXiCab KO Cup clashes with Edinburgh will be “intense”.
The Allied Vehicles Tigers face the Monarchs in the quarter-finals at Armadale on Friday (May 30) with the second leg at Ashfield on Saturday (May 31) at 3pm.
Dan Thompson will be missing from the local derbies with a broken left scaphoid and Brown admits that is a huge setback.
He said: “The form book always goes out the window against Edinburgh.
“Our record this season so far against the Monarchs is very good but that means nothing now.
“We start from zero over two legs and they will always be intense meetings.
“The fact is that the Monarchs have improved a great deal since we last raced against them. They beat Workington comfortably and will be boosted by that.
“We have lost Dan who has only dropped two points in 10 races at Armadale this season.
“Our first thoughts have been with Dan over the past week. It’s massively frustrating for the lad who has been nothing short of sensational for the Tigers.
“He’s getting the best possible treatment to be back as soon as he is properly fit.
“In the meantime we have to battle on without him. We are weighing up our options on what to do to cover for him in the best possible way for the forthcoming meetings.
“We’ve got a great team and everyone will have to step it up a bit to cover for Dan.
“We can’t wait to get him back in the squad. He’s very much part of the terrific spirit we have in the pits and we all want him back fit as soon as possible.”