Ipswich Witches team manager Ritchie Hawkins has give a big thumbs-up to Kyle Newman and Justin Sedgmen.

The two middle-order riders are starting to show the kind of Foxhall form Ipswich fans have been looking forward to seeing on a more regular basis.

And although Newman was axed by his home-town club Poole Pirates this week, Hawkins has given the Dorset-based rider his full support.

“Kyle is getting better every race but like Sedgy (Justin Sedgmen) he is nowhere near his best, although they are both scoring points.

“When they hit top form you will see how good we can be.

“I have alot of faith in the pair of them.”

Meanwhile, the Witches welcome a patched-up Berwick Bandits to Foxhall on Thursday in a Championship fixture (7.30pm).

The two sides have met already this season home and away in the Knockout Cup with the Witches sailing through to the next round after a big 60-30 at home and a narrow defeat at Berwick.

The Suffolk side go into the meeting high on confidence after they produced a fantastic comeback to beat league leaders Edinburgh Monarchs last Thursday. Nathan Greaves is fit for the clash after a heavy fall last week forced him to withdraw after two rides.

The visitors have endured a difficult start to 2017 but have improved their fortunes since making team changes.

However, the Bandits will be without Nick Morris, Lewis Bridger, Danny Gappmaier and Lee Payne for Thursday’s meeting.

Edinburgh’s Sam Masters is back at Foxhall as a guest and Alfie Bowtell guests at reserve. Rider Replacement will be used for Lewis Bridger.

“We can’t take anything for granted,” added Hawkins.

Ipswich: D King, C Heeps, J Sedgmen, K Newman, R Schlein, C Mountain, N Greave.

Berwick: S Masters, TBC, D Howe, R/R, K Doolan, J Etheridge, A Bowtell

Ipswich ‘Tru7.com’ Witches:

1. Danny King (c) 8.88

2. Cameron Heeps 6.64

3. Justin Sedgmen 7.60

4. Kyle Newman 6.31

5. Rory Schlein 8.06

6. Connor Mountain 2.67

7. Nathan Greaves 2.26

Team Manager: Ritchie Hawkins

‘Olympus Marquees’ Berwick Bandits:

1. Sam Masters (g) 8.90

2. Guest TBC

3. David Howe 6.72

4. R/R 6.59

5. Kevin Doolan (c) 6.69

6. Jye Etheridge 4.00

7. Alfie Bowtell (Guest) 2.00

Team Manager: Gary Havelock

Referee: M. Bates

Parade: Thursday, 7.30pm

Venue: Foxhall Stadium, IP4 5TL

Championship Table

Team Pl Pts

Edinburgh 16 35

Glasgow 12 30

Witches 14 29

Sheffield 11 21

Workington 10 21

Redcar 14 21

Newcastle 12 19

Peterborough 11 15

Scunthorpe 16 14

Berwick 16 10

Last five home results v Berwick:

30.03.17 W60-30

14.07.16 W58-34

20.08.15 W60-30

21.05.15 W46-44

31.07.14 W60-34

Berwick’s last five:

CH Peterborough 54–38 Berwick

CH Berwick 53–40 Newcastle

CH Glasgow 54-38 Berwick

CH Berwick 48-44 Workington

CH Berwick 34-50 Redcar