Paddy DavittKing's Lynn reserve Darren Mallett is eyeing Premier League top spot against Berwick at the Norfolk Arena tonight (7.45pm). The champions will climb to the summit for the first time this season if they follow up last weekend's win in the Borders and Scunthorpe fail to take maximum points at Birmingham.Paddy Davitt

King's Lynn reserve Darren Mallett is eyeing Premier League top spot against Berwick at the Norfolk Arena tonight (7.45pm).

The champions will climb to the summit for the first time this season if they follow up last weekend's win in the Borders and Scunthorpe fail to take maximum points at Birmingham.

Lynn officials are confident injured trio Tomas Topinka, Linus Eklof and Joe Haines can return to complete the Stars' powerful septet for the first time in nearly a month.

"The rest of the boys have done ever so well without the injured lads and now with them coming back it can only make us stronger," said Mallett.

"I know when we got to Edinburgh the other night they really felt it was an opportunity to put one over us but we managed to turn the tables on them."

Crashes and mechanical problems blighted Mallett on the club's successful northern tour after a string of impressive early season displays following his elevation to the treble-winner's squad.

"At Berwick I went over the handlebars and that shakes you up a bit," he said. "I was able to carry on riding at but you don't feel 100pc. I've still got a sore back and a bruised hip because I had a couple of other crashes the previous week.

"It's difficult when we have so many boys injured. I was more or less riding at number six and you end up in races against their heat leaders.

"Against Edinburgh I was winning heat two and the chain came off and I think from how far ahead I was that would have been three points - so I ended up with paid two instead of paid five. Then at Berwick I picked up paid three after the crash but I had only been to both those tracks once before and that was for Boston in the Conference League when I was 17. It's still all new to me."

Mallett continues to excel on home shale, with a paid seven return in his last unscheduled outing at the British semi-final.

"It was a shame having scored that amount of points that I didn't get the chance to qualify but that is how the format is when the reserve comes in," he said. "To be honest there was no pressure on me. I just went out there and thought this is my home track, I can ride it. I beat Leigh Lanham in my first ride but I had raced against him for Newport in the Premier and there were a lot of other Premier League boys in the field.

"Obviously the likes of (Edward) Kennett and (Chris) Harris are a bit different but they are all definitely beatable. I managed to gate with Kennett in one race but going into turn two my arm was caught in his back wheel. He closed the door and I had nowhere to go. You wouldn't expect any different - at that level it is hard racing but it is all good experience and part of my learning and I wasn't off the pace.

"The higher you go it's about having the money to put into your engines and equipment."

Stars: 1 Tomas Topinka, 2 Joe Haines, 3 Kozza Smith, 4 Linus Eklof, 5 Kevin Doolan, 6 Darren Mallett, 7 Casper Wortmann.

Bandits: 1 Adrian Rymel, 2 Anders Andersen, 3 Paul Clews, 4 r/r, 5 Michal Makovsky, 6 Jade Mudgway, 7 Craig Branney.

Admission prices: Adults �13, concessions �10, juniors (aged 12 to 15) �5 and free entry for children aged 11 and under.