POOLE Pirates boss Matt Ford has called on Elite League promoters to roll back the fast-track reserve system for the good of the competition.

In a radical shake-up 12 months ago, top-flight clubs were forced to blood reserves from a list of 36 UK riders in a bid to boost the long-term future of British speedway.

The plan saw promoters pick riders from a draft with those selecting higher-ranked competitors pushed down the pecking order when choosing their second reserve.

Poole, who were able to call on hometown hero Kyle Newman as a club asset, struggled to fill their second berth with Lee Smart, Ben Hopwood, Brendan Johnson and Benji Compton named in the one-to-seven during the campaign.

Ford revealed Pirates “would not support” a continuation of the system under its current format when British speedway’s bigwigs convene for their three-day annual general meeting (AGM) today.

The Wimborne Road promoter made the case for halving the number of positions while advocating a similar system in the Premier League.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “We are not keen on the reserve system as it is and would like to see changes.

“The likes of Kyle Newman, Jason Garrity, Lewis Blackbird and Lewis Kerr should keep their places at reserve alongside riders such as Josh Auty and Ashley Birks.

“Ideally, the other reserve position would go back to being an open choice. We would still be giving the top end of British talent the chance to progress and the Premier League could look at doing something to bring through the next batch.

“There is such a divide between some riders and the gap is too far to bridge for many of them. It would be better for each club to have one rider who can genuinely improve rather than just making it a numbers game.

“Clubs have had to take riders just to fill a position through necessity rather than choice. I would like to see each club have one rider of the right standard not only for the sake of competition but the riders themselves too.

“Hopefully, the guys below that can keep improving and compete for the Elite League spots when the current crop moves forward.

“That would give you a much better progression rather than having riders at the top who can't even command a regular position in the Premier League.

“It would help if we could be a bit more flexible to help British guys because, generally, the jump has proved a bit too big for many of them to make.”