POOLE Pirates promoter Matt Ford has revealed Darcy Ward could line up for an Elite League rival when his ban gets lifted.

Ford refused to rule out the prospect of the club’s Aussie asset donning the colours of another top-flight side having insisted injury-plagued Poole possess “the best seven-man team in British speedway”.

Ward can ride again from June 28 following his 10-month suspension for a failed alcohol test at the Latvian Grand Prix in August.

Injury-hit Pirates sat second in the table prior to last night's meeting between King's Lynn and Wolverhampton despite a mixed start to 2015 and Ford remains keen to let the dust settle before taking any drastic measures.

Quizzed on the prospect of Ward returning, Ford told the Daily Echo: “Darcy is always going to be important to this club and if he doesn’t get in here, we’ll do our utmost to make sure he fits in somewhere else because we want him riding.

“I have discussed things at length with Darcy and it is not about him coming straight back into the team. He knows if there is an opportunity to do it without making wholesale changes then we will do everything in our power to make it happen.

“It is a matter of waiting to see what happens but there is a reason we remain favourites to win this league and I believe we have the best seven-man team in British speedway.

“You could make a case for Coventry but I would add that we went there and beat them when we had a full side.”

Meanwhile, Ford cited the absence of captain and Grand Prix star Maciej Janowski as the main factor behind Poole taking one point from three meetings prior to last week’s triumph over Wolves.

Ford added: “Had I known Maciej was going to be out for so long, I probably would have taken somebody on another 28-day deal.

“We could have approached Krzysztof Kasprzak or Antonio Lindback, two riders who would have been very much at home helping us for a month.

“In the three meetings we had with Maciej in the team, we picked up all 11 points available to us which says a lot.

“With the greatest of respect to everyone else, we beat Wolves when we managed to replace Maciej with a genuine heat leader in Chris Harris.

“The rules in speedway dictate that if you have an injury, you have to replace that person with someone who is not as good. It has been very hard but we will not push the panic button.

“We haven’t had a lot of luck and have yet to really track our own team. Maciej is, in my opinion, among the best 10 riders in the world. Let’s get him back first then take any further decisions as they come.”