Speedway: New Sheffield skipper Josh Pickering explains how he turned around 2024 and his hope for 2025

Although Sheffield missed out on the play-offs final through a narrow semi-final defeat by eventual winners Belle Vue, he won the KO Cup with Tigers and the Championship league’s individual riders title.

Now, taking over from Kyle Howarth as Sheffield captain, he is hoping for a fast start to the new season, which Sheffield start against Birmingham at Owlerton on Thursday (April 3).

Asked how it feels to be captain, he said: “Very good actually, It's a nice thing to go by my name I suppose. I haven't really thought too much about it if I'm completely honest with you. It's probably going to be something I look back in 10 years time and go ‘I captained these lads to win the 2025 Premiership title’, so that's when it's going to be cool.

“But for now we've got a job to do and we're all looking forward to get going.”

He feels his 2024 season felt like a good season in the end, despite seeing it as having a slow start.

He said “I felt like I struggled finding my feet early on. I changed things about, changed engine tuner, went to Ashley Holloway in Poland and had John Howarth servicing my stuff out here in England. Things got me dialled in again and riding alongside the likes of these boys here definitely helped fine tune things to put me in the right direction.

“I feel like towards the end of the year I was a bit of a force to be reckoned with within myself and my own personal riding. Hopefully we can create that same set up again at the start of the year and all us boys get off to a good start.

Speaking last Thursday, before the Tigers’ public practice session, and before Tigers colleague Tai Woffinden was injured in Poland, he said he felt there were four riders in the team that should get 40 points, and then three new faces in the team with a lot a lot of promise.

“If those boys can all jump in and get 15 points collectively, then we're absolutely laughing. It's going to be an exciting year,” he said.

“We've got good strength in reserve this year. I'm not saying that we haven't had previously, but I feel like this year it is a bit better in that regard.”

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