Ipswich Witches: Adrenalin keeping team going before Premiership final - Chris Louis

Emil Sayfutdinov was Ipswich's leading scorer in the second leg against Belle Vue with 11

Ipswich Witches promoter Chris Louis says the team are running on adrenalin as they look to complete a league and cup double at the end of a long season.

They beat Belle Vue 93-87 on aggregate in the Premiership semi-finals, despite losing Monday's second leg 51-39.

And the Witches will face Sheffield Tigers or Wolverhampton in the final.

"This would be the big one, this is what we do it for, and I know they want it very badly," Louis told BBC Radio Suffolk's breakfast show.

Sheffield lead Wolverhampton 50-40 after the away leg of their semi-final and will host the return on Thursday.

"It looks odds on it's going to be Sheffield. Who would I rather be facing? Possibly Wolverhampton, we go very, very well at their place," said Louis.

"You can't pick and choose at this point. It looks almost certain that it will be Sheffield now, a replay of the cup final, and they will be looking for revenge, and it'll be tough.

"We've had such a strong finish to the league campaign, then winning the cup and now making the final, it's really the adrenalin that's keeping the team going now."

Ipswich beat the Tigers 97-83 in the Knockout Cup final earlier this month, their first trophy for 25 years.

But they have not been league champions since 1998, having lost to Swindon Robins the last time they reached the Premiership final in 2019.

Belle Vue, last year's champions, fought back strongly from an 18-point deficit but a 1-2 for the Witches by former world champion Jason Doyle and Emil Sayfutdinov in heat 15 made certain of the aggregate win.

Louis said: "They've had a busy end to the season, a very tough end to the season, and had the pressure of having to perform to make sure they go to these finals.

"They've won the cup, they're in the play-off final, it's there for them to take, and looking around the faces in the pit lane, particularly when Belle Vue came at us and were whittling it down with three or four heats to go, there was no panic in the faces.

"It was literally a lot of talking and soul searching going on, working out how to get the best out of the riders, and of course the bikes."

The Premiership final will take place on 2 and 5 October.