Lyon failed to make the finals 12 months ago

Great Britain boss Rob Lyon has admitted his side have exceeded his expectations so far in the World Cup.

One year ago his young squad failed to make it past the first round, but on Monday a more experienced group sealed an automatic final place.

He told BBC Radio Norfolk: "I would have liked to see us in the final.

"Whether we would have won a round to get there in the second year was probably not a possibility, but we've done it so we'll take it."

Britain overcame Australia, Sweden and Finland at the Norfolk Arena in King's Lynn, the home of the team Lyon manages day-to-day.

A nip-and-tuck battle between the home side and Australia ended with Britain clinching victory by three points, and Lyon was full of praise for his men.

"I have to give credit to my boys, they were 100% committed," he said.

"The team spirit was second to none and it was an awesome night for us.

"I knew it would be tight, I didn't think it would be a two-horse race but the Swedes had a lot of bad luck early on."

Lyon will be taking the same five riders - Chris Harris, Scott Nicholls, Lee Richardson, Simon Stead and Tai Woffinden - to the final in Denmark, plus Danny King as cover.

The trip means the King's Lynn boss will not be in the country to manage the Stars as they face-off against Edinburgh in the Knock Out Cup on Wednesday and Newport in the Premier League on Sunday.

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