Oxford Silver Machine promoter Nigel Wagstaff will spend the next few weeks considering his future after witnessing probably the worst gate for a home Elite League competition meeting.

Monday's Craven Shield clash against Wolverhampton saw huge gaps on the terraces, and it is clearly a worry for Machine's go-ahead boss.

The attendance probably wouldn't have covered the Oxford Stadium rent let alone pay the riders, so some serious thinking will probably be going through his mind.

Mind you, the fans have been asked to shell out twice in a week recently and there is only so much money to go round.

It's the same this week with another meeting tonight and a double-header next Monday.

Wagstaff said just last week he was committed 100 per cent to Oxford, but you can only take so much.

To his credit he has not allowed the team to stagnate throughout an injury-hit season, bringing in riders from far and wide, not always successfully, but the effort was there.

Wagstaff is concerned about a lack of interest in the end-of-season Craven Shield competition.

He said: "Perhaps the further you get the more interest there will be, but I do worry for the future of the competition when I don't really see any great interest in the terraces."

Fans, particularly in this area, will only support a successful side.

Sadly that's not been the case for Silver Machine, whose season was turned upside down by the injury to Billy Hamill in only the second league match of the season.

They have been rock bottom from day one, and while Wagstaff's agreement with former boss Steve Purchase runs out this year, Oxford could be in for a long hard winter before the wheels turn again in March.