Skipper Davey Watt has told banned Lewis Bridger he will be welcomed back by Eastbourne Eagles.

Bridger has completed a two-match Elite League ban imposed for missing last Monday’s 49-41 defeat at Belle Vue.

He returns to the Eagles’ side when they go to Lakeside next Friday.

Watt will be the next man to team up with Bridger at Arlington as the duo represent Eastbourne in a high-quality Elite League Pairs a week tomorrow.

There were a few boos from the terraces when Bridger’s name was read out ahead of last Saturday’s win over Lakeside.

However Watt, whose paid-15 showing at Belle Vue proved to be in vain, has no worries about the local boy being welcomed back.

Watt spoke in glowing terms about Eastbourne’s team spirit after the Lakeside win and insists Bridger is part of that.

The Aussie star said: “I think when Lewis looks back he’ll think he would do things differently next time.

“There’s no bad feeling towards Lewis or anything like that.

“It was frustrating in that we came so close to winning at Belle Vue. That was hard to take. We know if Lewis had been there we would have won because he’s a class rider.

“It was harder not knowing what was happening. If someone is out injured at least you know where you are.

“But it all got blown a bit out of proportion.

“Lewis is a major part of our team at Eastbourne and that is not about to change.”

Bridger was banned for last night’s re-arranged fixture in Poland which saw his Czestochowa club host Watt’s Atlas Wroclaw outfit.

He might just feel he has something to prove when he joins Watt for the Pairs against a host of GP riders and league stars.

Scott Nicholls, Hans Andersen, Chris Holder, Freddie Eriksson, Matej Zagar, Lee Richardson, Lee Adams and Edward Kennett are just some of the riders involved.

Watt said: “It won’t be easy but meetings like that aren’t designed to be easy.

“We are both capable of scoring a load of points around Eastbourne. We have both shown that.

“We are not going there to make up the numbers. We want to beat the top boys.”

Bridger recently replaced Watt as Eagles’ No. 1 but that move has been good news for the captain.

After a poor run of scores at the top of the order, he has averaged 2.25 points per race since dropping down to No.3 for the past five meetings.

It would have been more but the bizarre end to heat ten last Saturday when he ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading double-points man Joonas Kylmakorpi.

“That was just a mix-up in the pits and not really nice,” he admitted.

“It came very close to doing damage to the team because it went from a 5-3 against us to an 8-1 but all the boys rode well and we got the win.”

There promises to be a celebratory feel around Arlington next Saturday as the club mark 80 years of racing at the stadium.

Although the meeting is a BSPA event not usually covered by season tickets, Eagles chief Bob Dugard has offered a generous concession to Arlington regulars.

Dugard is letting in Eagles season ticket holders for a fiver and making up the remaining £15 himself.

A special programme is being printed and there will be other entertainment fitted around the 25 races.