Pressure is all on the Diamonds, says Lyon

Rob Lyon believes the pressure is all on Newcastle as the Diamonds bid to hold on to a 20-point advantage at the Norfolk Arena tonight and wrestle the Premier League Trophy from King's Lynn's grip.

The Stars were beaten 57-37 in the semi-final first leg in the north east on Sunday evening and need another of the big home wins that have become their trademark in recent years if they are to progress to the final. And Lyon, pictured, believes that his team are perfectly capable of delivering, as long as they concentrate on the job in hand.

'Newcastle are not naive enough to think that 20 points is a good enough advantage,' said the Stars team manager. 'I think they realise that the tie is far from over.'

Lynn have won by 20 points or more in five of their eight home meetings this season and that, says Lyon, puts the pressure on the visitors.

'At the end of the day we have to concentrate on what we have to do,' Lyon added. 'If we do our jobs we know we are capable of that. I have no doubt that it will be very, very close and that we will go through.

'I think the pressure is on Newcastle. We've won the trophy three times in my time as manager, we have nothing to prove. We don't need to prove we are one of the best teams in the league.

'Newcastle are more desperate to win something, they've been starved of success for a while, and we have to make sure we don't allow them to turn that into a positive.'

Lyon believes a lack of meetings in recent weeks contributed to their downfall at Byke on Sunday, when they were racing for the first time since June 2.

'It was probably always on the cards,' he said. 'Circumstances dictated that while some of the lads have been racing, we hadn't actually had a race meeting together as a team for a while, because of rain and fixture changes. It was a meeting at a track where, without making excuses, it has proved difficult in general, with the exception of a few occasions, for us. They are strong at home as well.

'Basically, it was a bit of a cocktail for potential defeat.'

Lyon's opposite number George English is in confident mood.

'We have a fighting chance of reaching the final,' he said. 'We have fast riders like Kenni Larsen, Rene Bach and Mark Lemon, who are all capable of winning races at King's Lynn.

'Jason King gained enough points there to qualify for the British Championship final, so I am pretty upbeat.'

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

Newcastle: 1 Mark Lemon, 2 Derek Sneddon, 3 Jason King, 4 Rene Back, 5 Kenni Larsen, 6 Dakota North, 7 Anders Andersen.

Rob Lyon believes the pressure is all on Newcastle as the Diamonds bid to hold on to a 20-point advantage at the Norfolk Arena tonight and wrestle the Premier League Trophy from King's Lynn's grip.

The Stars were beaten 57-37 in the semi-final first leg in the north east on Sunday evening and need another of the big home wins that have become their trademark in recent years if they are to progress to the final. And Lyon, pictured, believes that his team are perfectly capable of delivering, as long as they concentrate on the job in hand.

'Newcastle are not naive enough to think that 20 points is a good enough advantage,' said the Stars team manager. 'I think they realise that the tie is far from over.'

Lynn have won by 20 points or more in five of their eight home meetings this season and that, says Lyon, puts the pressure on the visitors.

'At the end of the day we have to concentrate on what we have to do,' Lyon added. 'If we do our jobs we know we are capable of that. I have no doubt that it will be very, very close and that we will go through.

'I think the pressure is on Newcastle. We've won the trophy three times in my time as manager, we have nothing to prove. We don't need to prove we are one of the best teams in the league.

'Newcastle are more desperate to win something, they've been starved of success for a while, and we have to make sure we don't allow them to turn that into a positive.'

Lyon believes a lack of meetings in recent weeks contributed to their downfall at Byke on Sunday, when they were racing for the first time since June 2.

'It was probably always on the cards,' he said. 'Circumstances dictated that while some of the lads have been racing, we hadn't actually had a race meeting together as a team for a while, because of rain and fixture changes. It was a meeting at a track where, without making excuses, it has proved difficult in general, with the exception of a few occasions, for us. They are strong at home as well.

'Basically, it was a bit of a cocktail for potential defeat.'

Lyon's opposite number George English is in confident mood.

'We have a fighting chance of reaching the final,' he said. 'We have fast riders like Kenni Larsen, Rene Bach and Mark Lemon, who are all capable of winning races at King's Lynn.

'Jason King gained enough points there to qualify for the British Championship final, so I am pretty upbeat.'

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

t Newcastle: 1 Mark Lemon, 2 Derek Sneddon, 3 Jason King, 4 Rene Back, 5 Kenni Larsen, 6 Dakota North, 7 Anders Andersen.