DANNY King is desperate to put behind him the nightmare of last season when he makes his Birmingham debut next Thursday.

King finished rock bottom in the Elite League with Ipswich who have since dropped down to the Premier League.

The Great Britain international admitted it was a tough time at the Suffolk club and team spirit was tested to the limit because of poor results. Now he’s ready for a fresh start and is excited by the challenge of riding in a new era of Elite League racing for the Perry Barr club.

The entire Brummies team will be making their debut when they face neighbours Wolverhampton in the first leg of the WM Trophy at Perry Barr next Thursday.

King said: “As soon as Ipswich dropped down a level I knew I would be looking for a new club.

“It was disappointing the way it all worked out last year but I was really pleased to hear from Birmingham and readily accepted the opportunity to sign for them.

“It’s a big club with a big reputation and they are very professional and although we don’t seem to be too strongly fancied at this stage, I think we can surprise a few.

“Our strength is in depth, we look pretty solid from top to bottom and I think we can make a success of it this season.

“It’s a new challenge for me and after the tough year we had with Ipswich I just want to get the season under way.

“I thought the Ipswich team looked fine at the start of the season but for one reason or another it just didn’t happen for us and we hit a bad run which we couldn’t get out of.

“It’s important for is to make a good start at Birmingham and to beat Wolverhampton on the opening night would be a real boost for us.”

Birmingham make the short trip to Wolverhampton for the return leg on Monday week, March 21.