PIRATES chief Matt Ford moved closer to wielding the axe after revealing that two potential new signings had expressed a desire to join the club.

Wimborne Road promoter Ford confirmed that his painstaking search for recruits had resulted in two riders making themselves available for selection.

Ford says he is waiting to see how Pirates perform at King’s Lynn tonight before making his final decision on team changes in a bid to revive Poole’s season.

The Pirates boss began contacting riders and scouring the continent after watching his injury-plagued side slump to the bottom of the Elite League standings.

And despite admitting he had struggled to tempt riders to Britain due to the financial rewards on offer elsewhere, Ford reported that two men had so far given him positive responses about possible inclusion in any new one-to-seven – which appears likelt to be imminently submitted to management committee chiefs.

He told the Daily Echo: “There are now a couple of people that have said they will come – not the likes of GP riders, but riders that I believe would improve the team.

“But I just really want to see how the team perform at King’s Lynn tonight and then make the tough decision of which way we go with the club.”

Ford, who ruled out Grand Prix duo Antonio Lindback and Emil Sayfutdinov following talks, politely declined to reveal the identity of the riders in question.

But providing an insight into his hunt for new riders, he said wage demands had proved a problem.

Ford added: “It is ever so difficult to try to persuade riders to come to Britain. The money on offer abroad is so incredible that it is very difficult to get people to come to Britain to ride for our pay rates. That isn’t to say that these guys are on nothing (in Britain). They can still earn a couple of thousand pounds a night but this is chicken feed against what they are being paid in Poland.

“I do understand that, for many of them, it is just not possible and they wouldn’t want to put those earnings at risk, for want of a better word.

“But, sometimes, you may get some who just think it is the right time to take on Britain again or to take on Britain for the first time.

“In particular, if they are young and want to improve, they know there is no better schooling than Elite League speedway. So, there are one or two riders now that have made themselves available to us.”

Pirates’ search for recruits has been made more urgent by the team’s lack of form and Darcy Ward’s injury, with the Australian facing up to two months out due to a fractured shoulder blade.