Savalas Clouting is aiming to give Peterborough Panthers a belting at Arlington Stadium tonight.

Clouting is the latest secret weapon drafted in by title-chasing Eastbourne Eagles in the run-up to the Elite League championship showdown with rivals King's Lynn.

Eagles have had an assortment of riders filling the No. 7 race jacket in the last two months, none of whom have stuck.

Now they have gone for Clouting, who was once the subject of a record British transfer bid for a reserve by Eastbourne when he was a 17-year-old junior with Ipswich.

Eagles are banking on him to give their title push some clout when they take on the Panthers in their penultimate home league match.

Clouting is desperate to do well, not least because he owes the Sussex outfit a favour but also because the match provides a much-needed showcase for his own talents.

Since bursting on to the scene as a teenager and winning the British under-21 championship, Clouting's career has failed to take off.

He admits: "I should have made a lot more progress and should be doing a lot better than I am. Things haven't worked out the way I would have hoped."

Clouting, 24, rides for Arena Essex in the Premier League after starting the season with Ipswich and spending a spell on loan to Poole.

"I hadn't been happy at Ipswich for some time. Being a local boy, there was a lot of pressure on me. I wanted a change, but they wouldn't let me go at the beginning of the season.

"When they did, it was too late for me to get fixed up anywhere else. One way or another, I've missed so many weeks of racing that it's been a wasted year for me."

Clouting has ridden once before for Eagles. That was four years ago when he scored three points against Coventry.

But neither he nor Eastbourne will forget one Bank Holiday at Swindon in 1996 when he was guesting against Eagles and helped dump them out of the cup.

Eagles had won 56-39 at Arlington two days before, but Swindon turned the tie on its head, winning 59-37.

Clouting scored a crucial win, figured in two 5-1's and finished with a paid 11 points.

He added: "I used to love the place, but I've struggled a bit at Arlington in the last couple of seasons. It would be nice to do well for them."