Ermolenko tips Wolves for the title
Speedway great Sam Ermolenko reckons Wolves can take the Elite League title – but must pay the utmost attention to the fine details.
Although the 1993 world champion has no formal role at Monmore, he remains close to the management set-up.
When his Sky analysis and other commitments permit, the American is on hand to pass on his experience to the younger riders when asked.
He said: "I believe they're definitely capable of winning it. It's just down to the detail now. We've seen Swindon over the past five or six years so close so many times and they've never clinched it.
"And I believe that Swindon failed because they're not paying attention to the details of things.
"I think it's going to come down now, from number one to number seven, to looking at the details to make sure that each and every one of those things is polished and prepared."
After his illustrious riding career ended, Ermolenko briefly took a sporting director's role at Reading which saw the club go all the way to the play-off final in 2006.
He was responsible for all aspects of the riders' preparation before handing them over to the team manager, and has developed an eye for the tiny factors that can make the difference between victory and defeat.
While Ermolenko stresses that he is not being critical, he has picked up on certain incidents.
He said: "An example - I saw Tai Woffinden have an engine failure while leading Chris Harris at Coventry.
"He was beating Chris fair and square and his bike failed on him and he went down. He came out in his next ride on his second bike and he went up to the starting line.
"But, when he had a misfire on the line, the first thing he should have done was go through the tapes when the green light came on.
"Tai should have gone through the tapes and made sure there was a rider representing Wolverhampton who had a chance of scoring some points – that's the detail."
