Edinburgh's longest serving rider, Blair Scott, expressed relief when he signed a contract to stay with Monarchs for a fourth successive season. He had been tipped for an exit after failing to sustain a second string place with Monarchs last year. Even though he scored freely from resrve at Armadale, his patchy away form made him vulnerable as the promotion look to beef up Monarchs for away matches.
Indeed many of Blair's friends and advisers have been urging him to move away from Monarchs, at least for a spell. Blair ignored this advise and steadfastly insisted that he wanted to stay with Edinburgh. He was rather put off by the travelling that a move to, for example Newcastle, would entail.
Blair made his debut for the Scottish Monarchs in 1996 and has been in the side since the start of the the 1997 season. Apart from a brief spell out injured and a three week stint when he was dropped and replaced by Michael Lowrie, Blair has been in the side ever since.
Monarchs delayed a decision on Blair until they had sorted out the top end of the team. The key was Kevin Little who took some time to agree terms. Had Kevin not signed, his replacement was likely to be a nine-point Scandinavian. This would have made it impossible to fit Blair into the middle order of the team.
After Kevin found the sponsorship to enable him to stay within Monarchs pay structure, Blair took some time to agree terms and admitted that the sum fell short of what he was looking for. The problem for Blair was that with passing time his options were becoming limited as the other northern teams were filling up rapidly. Monarchs made it clear that Stewart McDonald could fill the vacant second string place if Blair did not accept what was on offer.
Blair commented in the Edinburgh Pink:
"Edinburgh didn't give me what I had asked for. Talks had been going on for a few weeks and I couldn't hold out for much longer otherwise I was in danger of not being offered a team place. That was the last thing I wanted. Although Edinburgh wanted me back in the side I turned down the initial offer."
"There wasn't a major gap between us in the end. I'm just delighted to be going back. I didn't want to ride for anybody else. I'm an Edinburgh man through-and-through, but I would have moved on if I had been forced to."
Blair is determined to at least maintain his second string position this year. He is taking steps to improve his fitness and mental attitude at away tracks, which have been attributed to underachievement in the past. Blair was known as a big track specialist in his first season at Armadale. He can score well on such tracks. In 1999 he scored a maximum winning the Under-21 semi-final at Workington. He put in some decent rides at Berwick and did well in Monarch's first visit to Exeter. However he could return to the same tracks later and appear well off the pace.
Scott vowed that "Things will be different this season".
"I realize I have to become more focused because it's high time I made my mark. Ideally I would like to increase my average and it is my aim to have a seven-point figure by the end of the season. There is no way I want to drop back to reserve, you get nowhere by holding on to the number seven race jacket."
"I need to score more points, especially away from home. I know I can do it. Howver I sometimes psyche myself out even before I arrive at some of the tracks. I worry too much about how I will perform. I simply need to go out on the track and do the job expected of me."
Fitness has been an issue with Blair since he was critised by the promotion after a match at Berwick in 1998. Blair acknowledges that there is room for improvement:
"I'm going to be a lot fitter. I'm already training and intend to do some kick boxing as well. I know people have this cigarettes and lager image of me. I don't drink to excess, just a couple of pints after a meeting, but I do want to give up the fags."
Blair is hoping to have a new bike ready for the start of the new season. According to John Campbell, he has the potentail to become a key member of the side:
"Everyone, including Blair, realizes that he has the ability. It's just getting him to put it onto the track. To be fair, Blair has increased his average by a point every year. If he manages that again, he will reach seven, and at that level he must really get more points."
Those who argued that Blair should have a spell away as was the case with Scott Lamb a decade earlier have pointed to the success of Barry Campbell at Workington. In fact Barry started the 1999 season nearly one point above Blair in the averages but ended up half a point behind him.
Blair could find it tough to increase his average if he rides in the difficult number 2 slot. A switch to number 4 might help things.
If Blair can hit the seven point average and do it on the basis of better scoring away from home, Edinburgh could be on their way to further honours and maybe that ellusive first League Championship win.