PIRATES have confirmed that Greg Hancock will not make his debut tonight after the club’s painstaking bid to rush through his work permit application failed to pay off.

Promoter Matt Ford said he was “very disappointed” after revealing that the speedway legend’s passport and visa had not arrived in time.

Ford had contacted Poole MP Robert Syms in his attempts to beat the deadline for Hancock to board his flight to England from his Swedish base earlier today.

But the Poole chief did confirm that Hancock's application had been processed and his paperwork was expected to arrive in Stockholm tomorrow.

If the documents arrive as scheduled, the two-times world champion will travel to Italy for Saturday's Grand Prix before finally landing on British soil for Poole's home clash with Eastbourne on Monday. 

Click above to view a video message from Greg Hancock to the Pirates fans.

Ford told the Daily Echo: "We are very disappointed but it's no good pointing fingers at anyone. It is one of those things that, unfortunately, takes time to happen. 

"The most important thing now is to make sure Greg gets his passport, completes his commitments this weekend and arrives here in time for Monday."

Pirates will revert to their previous one-to-seven and utilise rider replacement for injured captain Chris Holder when they lock horns with Coventry at Wimborne Road (7.30pm).

And despite Poole being without their high-profile recruit, Ford called on the rest of his charges to ensure the Dorset outfit continue their play-off push. 

Ford added: "It is no different to Eddie Howe being without Brett Pitman at AFC Bournemouth - you've just got to get on with it. 

"We need someone else to step up and be the hero tonight. The Aussie lads are fired up for it and Tomas (H Jonasson) will need to find his feet immediately on his return because a lot rests on him."