NO ONE could be happier than Neil Middleditch that Great Britain are due to contest the Speedway World Cup final next summer.

But the Poole Pirates team boss insists that the process that saw Team GB earn their place in the National Speedway Stadium showdown needs to be tweaked.

Alun Rossiter and co avoided both the semi-finals and race-off – graveyards for many a Britain team over the years – because they were seeded into the final as hosts.

And that could play into Team GB's hands as they aim to go one better than Middleditch's class of 2004, who agonisingly missed out on the Ove Fundin Trophy by a single point at Wimborne Road.

For Middleditch, though, the approach to favour the host nation needs to be scrapped in order to get the shale sport's purists back on board.

The 58-year-old, who bossed GB in two separate spells, told the Daily Echo: "I still think that every team should earn their right to be in the World Cup final.

"From a marketing point of view, of course it makes sense to put the home nation in. If you have the World Cup in Britain and Britain aren't in the final, then the crowds would not be as big as if they were.

"We know that in the past, the crowds for the qualifying meetings at King's Lynn have been tremendous.

"I appreciate that the organisers have to look at it from that point of view but perhaps it dilutes the product a little bit knowing that the host nation is in the final straight away.

"As far as I know, there isn't any other sport where that happens.

"That's the way they have done it for the past few years and everyone has had a shot at it now. I think we need to bring the World Cup back to the purists and get the best four teams into the final through a qualification process.

"I'm not saying that Team GB aren't one of the four best teams. But I personally would like to earn my place in the final rather than be gifted it. It takes a bit of the achievement away by being gifted a place.

"Those are the rules but it is a decision that has been taken from a commercial point of view to get the maximum amount of people to attend and the maximum amount of interest."

The last time that the World Cup final was held on British soil was at Reading in 2006, with Poland, Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic all hosting the renowned meeting since then.

The National Speedway Stadium, set to be used for the first time next year, will also stage the race-off and Middleditch said that Britain deserved the honour.

He continued: "I think it was about time and it's good that Team GB are going to get a good following.

"At least missing the semi-final and race-off saves all the heartache that I personally have gone through over the years and that Rosco would like to avoid.

"It's Great Britain's turn to have the World Cup and, hopefully, they can make the most of home advantage."

The competition is due to kick-off on Saturday, July 23, when Denmark entertain six-time champions Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic in event one at Vojens Speedway Center.

Event two is set to take place on Tuesday, July 26 when 2015 winners Sweden host Australia, the United States and one further qualifier at Vastervik.

The final side in event two will be determined by a qualifier at Terenzano, where hosts Italy meet Latvia, Slovenia and Germany.