HANS Andersen looked back on his third spell at Pirates and admitted: "The club will always have a special place in my heart."

The double World Cup winner ended a two-season stint on the south coast on Monday when he was unveiled as the final piece of the Leicester jigsaw.

Andersen had been keen on a return to Pirates but with boss Matt Ford unable to guarantee the Dane a berth, he eventually elected to ply his trade elsewhere.

The 37-year-old insisted he had left Wimborne Road on good terms and left the door open for a return in future.

Andersen told the Daily Echo: "Poole was my first English club and it's the club I've served the longest in England. It's like a first child or a first girlfriend – it will always have a special place in my heart.

"I'm disappointed not to be at Poole because I have quite good sponsorship backing there and I think I did what I was brought in to do. It's just one of those things.

"There's always various reasons for people parting ways and Matt had other ideas.

"He could have kept me waiting longer but I had to check on my own business. I couldn't sit there and watch every team get full. There weren't many places left in the league for riders with an average of nearly 8.00.

"It's not like we've parted on bad terms because at the end of the day, you never know, you might find yourself back at some stage. I've been with Poole before and left and then come back.

"I've enjoyed the past two seasons. The only disappointing thing is I still haven't won a league title with Poole.

"It didn't happen in recent seasons for various reasons, including injuries or people not performing. We still made the play-off semi-finals both years and gave the fans something to cheer about."

Andersen was awarded the captaincy by Ford after Davey Watt was axed early in the 2016 campaign. And he retained the armband until his departure.

The two-time Elite League winner said: "One of the reasons I had the captaincy was because I gave a lot on track and off track as well.

"It comes naturally to me to run around the pits and talk to the boys rather than just sit in my corner and do my own thing.

"At the moment I am still enjoying my racing and I have always enjoyed coming to England. I've done nearly every season apart from half a season when I came back and helped Poole in 2009.

"As long as England suits my racing schedule and family life and I am enjoying it, I will keep coming back."

Andersen joins Grand Prix star Martin Vaculik, Krystian Pieszczek, Josh Bates, Danny King, James Sarjeant and Poole asset Kyle Newman at Leicester.