Stars are blasted as prima donnas’

Mildenhall promoter Mick Horton has returned fire at King's Lynn counterpart Jonathan Chapman by deriding the Stars as 'prima donnas' ahead of tonight's spicy Premier Trophy derby at the Norfolk Arena.

Chapman's claim that the Premier League newcomers were rapidly gaining an unwanted reputation as a 'problem team' brought a stinging rebuke ahead of this evening's showdown between the East Anglian heavyweights.

“Jonathan's comments prove just one thing to me, King's Lynn are worried about us,” said Horton.

“No one expected us to have a chance, but we are still fighting for a semi-final spot while Lynn are blowing away the opposition by huge margins.”

Horton has already promised a hot reception when the highly-fancied Stars travel to West Row for Sunday's reverse fixture.

“One thing I can guarantee their management, riders and fans is that they will not be given an easy ride,” he said.

“They are the prima donnas of the Premier League and already think they are champions-elect, but talk is cheap.”

Lynn skipper Tomas Topinka insists his main priority is moving a step closer to the Premier Trophy semi-finals.

“It will be a close meeting, but we are not scared of anyone,” he said. “The boys are confident of doing a job. We can't afford to treat it as an extra special fixture. There's no way riders can pick and choose meetings - you always want to perform in front of your home fans.

“Mildenhall have guys who go well around the Arena. Everyone knows about the likes of Shaun Tacey and James Brundle, but Danny King and Jason Lyons are also really good on the track.

“We we're exceptional against the Isle of Wight in our last home meeting and we need to try and do the same again. Everyone clicked on the night, even though they had injury problems.”

The Czech heat leader is braced for a special atmosphere in both meetings with local pride at stake.

“I'm sure the fans will travel in big numbers,” he said. “In my time here Ipswich used to be the derby matches. I remember the home and away fixtures on the same day. Hopefully Mildenhall can take over that rivalry in the future.”

Topinka admits Lynn's West Row return is a step into the unknown.

“It's a completely different track and none of our guys have been around there,” he said.

“It's very slick and almost like a circle shape - that's not something the boys will be used to.

“We want to try and pick up some away wins in this competition. I'm not one for making predictions, but we will go there to win, not just protect the bonus point.”

Stars: 1 Daniel Nermark, 2 Trevor Harding, 3 Troy Batchelor, 4 Kevin Doolan, 5 Tomas Topinka, 6 Simon Lambert, 7 Chris Mills.

Fen Tigers: 1 Jason Lyons, 2 James Brundle, 3 Shaun Tacey, 4 Jason King, 5 Daniel King, 6 Barry Burchatt, 7 Jon Armstrong.

Parade: 7.30pm, first race: 7.45pm.