CRADLEY face a crunch clash with rivals Coventry at Monmore on Monday – and boss Will Pottinger is telling his riders to stop throwing points away.

The Heathens were sent crashing to a 51-39 defeat when the sides met at Brandon earlier this month – but they could and should have claimed at least a point after crashing and suffering bike problems in winning positions.

Now Pottinger is urging his riders to go for revenge when the sides meet again at Wolverhampton with Heathens looking to make it five straight home wins.

He said: “We threw a large number of points away against Coventry and if we’d have held on to those then we would probably have come away with a narrow away win.

“It was a frustrating night for all but now it’s time to focus on getting the better of them at our own place.

“We want to continue where we left off against the Isle of Wight at home. We showed some good character to bounce back and get another home victory under our belts. We pulled together as a team once again and we came out on top in a tough battle.”

And Pottinger says it will take another solid all-round effort to notch a fifth successive home win on Monday.

“It’s going to take another whole team performance against Coventry and we’re especially looking for important contributions from the second string and reserve positions to support our powerful heat-leaders,” he said.

“We’re really pleased with how Ben Basford is progressing, even since moving into the main body of the team, he’s showing some encouraging signs and he’s progressing with every race he does.

“Hopefully that continues and hopefully he can chip in with another decent return on Monday.

“I was chuffed for James Purchase who got his highest score of the season against the Isle of Wight; his contribution from reserve was one of the key differences between us winning and losing really.

“He’s been working hard and after a difficult start to the season it was nice to see him ride with a bit of confidence behind him.

“We want to keep our good run of home form going and it’s another big meeting for us.

“If we could get the win against Coventry at home then that would set us up nicely for the back-to-back away meetings at Eastbourne and Buxton the following weekend.

“Getting a result at either will be no easy task but it’s something we are more than capable of if everyone chips in with the points we know they can.”