PROMOTER Matt Ford acknowledges a flurry of guests may have papered over the cracks for Pirates but insists he is in the market for some quality permanent additions.

Depleted Pirates used no fewer than six stand-ins as they revived their Elite League play-offs hopes with convincing victories at Eastbourne and Belle Vue in the past six days.

Richie Worrall, Ben Barker, Mikkel B Jensen and Anders Mellgren all played their parts in Pirates’ crushing 55-35 win at Arlington, while Worrall, Micky Dyer and Josh Grajczonek delivered the goods in the 50-40 triumph at Kirky Lane.

Ford was forced to bring in a host of guests due to injury and unavailability. Pirates are without injured duo Tomas H Jonasson and Dawid Stachyra for tonight’s home clash with Belle Vue (7.30pm), but Przemyslaw Pawlicki is fit to return, while Grajczonek and Dyer will again step in.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “When riders like Pawlicki and Jonasson aren’t in your team, it is hard to replace them with guests and we had to track people with lower averages for the two meetings.

“But, irrespective of their averages, they were incredible and we could not have had better riders.

"We know we are a long way off being a good team and there are moves we will be making to try to strengthen. There are changes on the horizon and there will be new faces coming into the club. I hope that will please people and we have got to progress to give ourselves every chance of sneaking into the play-offs.”

Ford said he anticipated Pirates could even make as many as three changes for the trip to Coventry on Friday, July 5 with speculation mounting that Darcy Ward could be among them.

Poole will be hoping to maintain their improved form when they host the Aces on a Wimborne Road track Ford believes has lost its home advantage.

He added: “I don’t think Wimborne Road holds a fear to people like it used to. The track is so smooth and every one of the Birmingham riders said it was a joy to race on. Chris Holder said it was exceptional so the work to put it right has clearly worked.

“This is part of the problem because, when a track has no home advantage, it does make it difficult to win. We have given ourselves a platform and there is a long way to go. We are just over halfway through the season and are back in with a shout.

“Supporters like to watch a winning team and, if you are not winning, they tend to vote with their feet. Having got back into the swing of things and, hopefully, given ourselves a chance, it may mean people will come along and watch.”

Pirates: 1 Holder, 2 Tungate, 3 Pawlicki, 4 R/R for Miskowiak, 5 Janowski, 6 Dyer, 7 Grajczonek.

Aces: (from) Cook, Dryml, Nieminen, Ostergaard, Wolbert, Zagar, Zetterstrom.