Monarchs promoter John Campbell said:
"Blair is delighted to be back with us despite all the speculation and he showed some good form towards the end of the season."
Blair himself added:
"Monarchs are the only team I have ever wanted to race for. I’m an Edinburgh man through and through. I’m delighted to be staying with Monarchs."
Blair has been excellent around Armadale and is capable of beating anyone in the Premier League there on his day. Blair has wins over Sean Wilson and Les Collins who both came in as heat 8 golden doubles. He also beat James Grieves from the back. He has been rather inconsistent away from home. He is capable of big scores on the road especially on big tracks but he does not do this often enough to make the breakthrough to heat leader at this stage.
Blair more or less maintained his 1999 average this year but this was not bad since he was in the notoriously difficuly number 2 position for most of the season. In 1999 he spent most of the season at reserve.
It is because of this slow progress that certain of Blair's advisers suggested he take a spell away from Monarchs to improve his form on the road. It is rumoured that at least two other Premier League tracks had expressed an interest in signing Blair. The offer of a team place with Monarchs for the fifth consecutive year was obviously too much for Blair to resist.
Monarchs are expected to confirm that Swedish No.1 Robert Eriksson will also return next season.