BORN-AGAIN wonder kid Edward Kennett has reaffirmed his loyalty to Eastbourne Eagles.

The teenage star from Magham Down said this week: "I am totally committed to Eastbourne. I was brought up there. It was always my dream to ride for the club, and nothing has changed. It's where I want to be."

Kennett is currently enjoying a sea change since coming back into the side after a frustrating period on the sidelines. And for the first time this season he is enjoying himself.

"I'm so much happier. I feel more confident on the bike, my gating is better and I feel I am fast enough to score points."

Kennett, who won't be 18 until next month, endured a dismal spell after making the quantum leap from first-year rookie to Elite League rider in little more than half a season. When it all got too much, he quit.

"The pressure to do well was enormous. I think it affected me. The Elite League is hard, I won't say it isn't, but it really feels now as if I've turned the corner and I'm getting there.

"I changed one or two things with my style at the start of the season which didn't work out. Now I've gone back to the way I was riding last year and I feel much more comfortable."

There were signs of that old Kennett magic returning in the matches against Wolves last weekend after a period when 2004 was threatening to be-come a wasted year for one of speedway's most precocious talents.

The best of the bunch was a brilliant tactical ride which allowed Eagles' team-mate Adam Shields to pick up double points in a race at Arlington and ended with Kennett pun-ching the air in sheer delight.

And then at Wolverhampton he led former world champion Sam Ermolenko for two and a half laps until the race was stopped for an incident behind him and he was desperately unlucky to lose the rerun.

Kennett knows he has his work cut out to command a regular spot in the Eastbourne line-up. Steen Jensen, Adrian Miedzinski and Andrew Moore have all joined the team, while Davey Watt is being added to the squad.

But at least he is back in the firing line, and if he continues to make waves then it will be difficult for Eastbourne boss Jon Cook to ignore his claims.

A total of paid ten points against Wolves prompted Cook to say: "Edward was superb, and he deserved a lot more than he got at Wolverhampton."

Away from the track, Kennett is currently working in a quarry at Pyecombe driving a shovel.

He said: "These things can go 25mph flat out, but I only have it in first gear. I don't want to fall off!"

Kennett is back on the international stage next week when he rides in the world under-21 semi-final at Vetlanda in Sweden, but before then there is the important job of helping to get Eastbourne's play-off challenge back on track against Coventry at Arlington tomorrow night.

Eagles have lost three on the trot after a run of just one de-feat in nine which propelled them into the top three.

Coventry were annihilated 62-29 at Arlington in April, but no one is pretending it will be that easy this time round.

Coventry themselves des-troyed Peterborough 61-31 last week and suddenly don't look like the league's whipping boys any more.

Grand Prix racer Andreas Jonsson, who was preferred to Billy Hamill and Lee Richardson at the start of the season, hasn't let the side down.

Coventry's problems have been elsewhere, but riders like Billy Janniro and Stuart Robson have shown in the past they can perform well at Arl-ington.

Eagles will have to go with rider replacement for the in-jured Joonas Kylmakorpi be-cause his replacement, Roman Povazhny, does not join up with the team until next Wed-nesday's trip to Belle Vue.

Miedzinski is riding in the European under-19 semi-final in Germany and if Jensen is not fit Henning Bager will ride as a guest. The start is at 7.30.

Eastbourne: David Norris, Henning Bager or Steen Jensen, rider replacement, Adam Shields, Nicki Pedersen, Edward Kennett, And-rew Moore.

Coventry: Andreas Jonsson, Chris Harris, Billy Janniro, Morten Risager, Stuart Robson, Jason Bunyan, A. N. Other.