MATT Ford revealed Poole were still picking up the pieces from a delayed start to the season – but insisted the club could still mark its big birthday by winning the SGB Premiership title.

Promoter Ford said it was unlikely Pirates would recoup the financial losses incurred following the postponement of three lucrative meetings in March and April.

Poole’s 70th anniversary bash, the Knockout Cup clash with Somerset on Good Friday and their first home league meeting against Wolverhampton were all washed out.

And despite beating Belle Vue in their first league match, Pirates went on to lose the next five, leaving them bottom of the table in mid-May.

A recent upturn has seen them close the gap on the play-off places – with tomorrow's trip to King's Lynn and the visit of Leicester on Wednesday two key meetings for the club.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “We wanted it to be a year where everybody could embrace and celebrate the 70th anniversary.

“We worked very hard over the winter to get things in place to try to ensure it would be a success and I still think it can.

“On the track, the season could not have got off to a worse start with the rain-off of the anniversary meeting and our first two matches in the league.

“The whole sport banks on Good Friday and Easter Sunday to bring in decent crowds to give you a good start to the campaign.

“But the loss of those meetings saw us start the season in the second week of April and it had a huge impact on the club financially.

“It was a substantial loss – a large five-figure sum – and one I will not be able to recoup. It wasn’t only what it cost the club but also the loss of potential revenue and profit.

“Sadly, it put us on the back foot, although things have picked up recently and crowds are heading in the right direction.

“It has certainly been a testing time for everybody connected with the club and it hasn’t been easy trying to pick people up and rejuvenate them.

“But I feel we are getting somewhere now. The next few weeks will be absolutely crucial and will probably determine our season.

“We have taken something from our past eight league matches and are certainly showing signs of improvement.

“We have two vital matches this week and I don’t see any reason why we can’t win both.

“We are three points shy of the play-off places. We have been here before and managed to win the league – and there is no reason why we can’t do it again.

“As we have seen in the past, finishing top only guarantees you a place in the play-offs and pick of opposition so it is still very much all to play for.

“While there have been a lot of people unhappy with some of the performances of the team, and nobody more so than myself, the truth is we have 12 matches to go and a good run-in would certainly put that right.”