Stars look for KO Cup success

King’s Lynn will turn their attentions to the Knockout Cup next week – a competition that already looks their best chance of silverware this season.The Stars have been handed a semi-final clash with perennial bogey side Sheffield, but they do have the first leg on their own circuit.That was not initially scheduled to be the case as Stars were due to visit Owlerton next Monday, but the Tigers promotion announced last week that the meeting could not take place due to stadium availability – despite the fixture having been in the list since well before the start of the season.The irony of that situation will not have been lost on Stars bosses given that it was their postponement of a recent home fixture against Sheffield – admittedly for other reasons – which led to a two-point penalty, a matter over which they remain tight-lipped.A new date to visit South Yorkshire is to be confirmed but the Tigers are in town next Thursday, and the Stars are awaiting fitness news on No.1 and captain Tobiasz Musielak.The Pole made his comeback from injury in his home country last Sunday, taking three rides for Ostrow in their win at Krosno.He was involved in 5-1s in his first two rides but missed his final scheduled outing due to a problem with his leg, and was expected to report back to Stars bosses this week. Elsewhere, the team change season is well underway and Lynn will clearly be monitoring the rider market for any availability which may improve their own side.The big movers so far have been Birmingham who announced the shock signing of World No.2 Fredrik Lindgren this week, with the Swede returning to British racing for the first time in seven years. The Brummies have yet to announce which rider will make way for Lindgren, and it’s unclear whether any of the likely candidates would interest the Stars, who could do with beefing up their race-winning power where they have been particularly exposed following Musielak’s injury.Leicester have taken former Stars rider Craig Cook and released Drew Kemp, but that area of the team is not a concern for Lynn who have Patryk Wojdylo and Anders Rowe in the Rising Star berth very much doing their jobs. Cook became available for the Lions after another ex-Lynn man, Lewis Kerr, returned to Oxford after a month-long injury absence during which time Cook was recruited as cover.It all means Lynn may have to look to the foreign market once again, where one of the biggest frustrations must be the blistering form of Vadim Tarasenko who quit UK racing in the early weeks of the season.A Stars top three of a fit Musielak, Tarasenko, and with Nicolai Klindt coming in, may well have made a significant difference to recent results.