POOLE chief Matt Ford believes Magnus Zetterstrom will help the club if they get into a tight squeeze this year.

The Wimborne Road supremo revealed the Swede was in a pool of riders who he could turn to for help if Castle Cover Pirates were hit by injuries, either long or short term.

That pool also includes the likes of Krzysztof Kasprzak, Grzegorz Walasek, Matej Ferjan and Daniel Davidsson, all assets of the club who have not secured starting berths in Britain or chose to wait on the sidelines.

Zetterstrom, who at one time was being considered for a Poole team place this year, has just turned down an offer from Edin-burgh to be their number one.

At the same time, he stressed he would be giving Britain a miss this year, following three successful seasons on loan at Somerset.

Zorro, as he is known, has been based in Sturminster Marshall since he first joined Pirates in 1996.

He decided against the Monarchs move for two reasons. The first was because he didn't want to uproot his "workshop, accommodation and everything that's needed in speedway" and move north.

Secondly, the 36-year-old is in negotiations to take over a business in Sweden that manufacturers two hitch balls for cars pulling trailers and caravans.

But despite looking ahead to life after speedway, Zorro will still ride in Poland on Sundays and Sweden on Tuesdays, remaining fully fit and competitive.

Asked if he felt Zetterstrom would come in and plug a gap created by injury, Ford said: "I think he would because Magnus still has a great regard for the Poole club.

"If our luck was down, I am sure he would come back and help us.

"He is one of a pool of riders we will have options on if that scenario arises."

Ford added: "When we were left with 14.86 to play with for three riders we got Davey Watt, Freddie Eriksson and Zibi Suchecki.

"But there was a train of thought at giving ourselves a bit more to play with at the bottom end of the team.

"I did consider putting in Magnus, Steve Johnston and we had a look at Tomas H Jonasson, who has just signed for Edinburgh.

"So we did consider Zorro in a package with those other two.

"Unfortunately, though, Tomas was away and I tried to contact him on several occasions but failed to finalise anything with him.

"Feeling I didn't want to be in a position where other options were closed to us, we pressed ahead with the signing of Davey.

"Zorro is a popular rider and someone I have a great regard for and I think he would have come back for us.

"But it wasn't to be at this point. We had to make a decision and I felt having Davey was a chance too good to miss.

"I am very comfortable with the decision we have made, although we will still keep a close eye on Tomas' future at Edinburgh."

Talking about Zorro's plans to take over a business from one of his Swedish sponsors, Ford said: "Magnus is looking to his future and you can't blame him.

"He has to consider what he will do when he is out of speedway.

"It would have been great for Edinburgh to have him, but he has to put his wife and children first and that is the decision he has made."