Eastbourne Eagles boss Bob Dugard has reassured fans the club will survive the credit crunch.

But he admits they are lagging behind Elite League rivals in terms of sponsorship and attendances.

Dugard met with other top-flight promoters on Tuesday as the finishing touches were put to a new, improved deal with Sky Sports which should help sustain tracks through the economic downturn.

Notes were also exchanged on how clubs are managing this season and Dugard admitted Eagles, who are averaging less than 1,000 fans per meeting so far, did not come out of it too well.

He said: “It was a very worthwhile day but not for good reasons. It seems we are generally doing far worse than most other people.

“I can’t get my head around why that should be.

“Generally speaking crowds at the Midlands tracks seem to be double ours.

“You’re talking about a difference in income of £13,000 per week over the course of a season.

“If our lower crowds are partly down to us losing Edward Kennett, which they might be, the fans have to know we did all we could.

“The racing so far this season at Eastbourne has been superb. To be putting that sort of entertainment in front of small crowds is quite disheartening.

“We have also got maybe two of the top four young riders in the world in Lewis Bridger and Simon Gustafsson.

“We hear some tracks are getting ten times the sponsorship we have.

“Generally the meeting felt things would improve next season. The BSPA are close to a new five-year TV deal which brings a worthwhile increase in revenue but we still need to attract 1,200 people to our meetings.

“The club is 100% safe for the season but we have to then ask whether it is worth continuing if people don’t want speedway.”

Meanwhile, former Eastbourne skipper Lee Richardson has revealed he was asked to take a 50% pay cut by his troubled Polish club Czestochowa.

Hastings-based Richardson, who skippered Eagles to the KO Cup last season, eventually agreed to take a 20% drop in wages.

Now he reckons Eastbourne star Bridger could benefit from the cash crisis brought on by the withdrawal of sponsorship at the club.

Richardson revealed he received an email from Czestochowa saying, like ex-Eagles star Nicki Pedersen and GP veteran Greg Hancock, he was having his money cut in half.

He added: “My wife opened the email as I was driving up to a meeting at Peterborough last Thursday.

“She called me and said ‘you had better pull over’.

“I got a guy in Poland to help me out and I was negotiating until 10pm on Saturday. I got one hour’s sleep and went out there and rode for them on Sunday.”

Bridger is due to ride for Czestochowa at home to Leszno on Easter Monday and his fine form in the Elite League has not gone un-noticed.

Richardson said: “They have to have three Polish riders in the team but I think they will now try and use both Lewis and Tai Woffinden together in most meetings.

“Before this only one of them would have ridden so it’s a good opportunity for them.”