PROMOTER Matt Ford insists Poole Pirates must be at their best to shut down a Lakeside team that he believes will hit form away from Purfleet.

Pirates will tonight take on the Hammers in their first home Elite League meeting of the season (7.30pm), a septet that Ford has already tipped for the play-offs.

And the Poole chief admits the visitors have plenty of riders who could spoil Pirates’ big evening.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “I think Lakeside will have a certain amount of success on the road this season but I’m hoping here isn’t where it starts.

“They do have some riders that ride our track particularly well so we won’t underestimate them at all.

“Richard Lawson rides Poole very well and last week got a 15-point paid maximum against King’s Lynn and beat Niels-Kristian Iversen three times.

“It shows that they have real spoilers and that it’s going to be a stern test.

“We haven’t got an awful lot of home track knowledge at the moment as the lads are still getting used to the place. Paul Starke and Kacper Gomolski have only ridden it once, for example, but we have the makings of a good team.”

Lakeside will be led by skipper and Grand Prix star Andreas Jonsson who has returned to the British scene following a seven-year absence.

And Ford admitted he had been one of many to welcome with open arms the Swedish charger.

Ford added: “Everyone loves Andreas Jonsson and the fact he has come back. He is an absolute entertainer who is always value for money and tonight will be no different.

“He has been an exceptional rider who still plies his trade in the Grand Prix and chose to come back to British speedway because he felt it would make him sharper.

“I think that was a wise choice and I hope that he does well in the GPs and justifies that, and that others can see it is a benefit to ride in the Elite League.”

Pirates will track the same team that dismantled injury-hit Swindon 47-33 on Monday.

Kyle Newman is fit despite a spill at Blunsdon while Josh Grajczonek is set to make his first home appearance since signing a minimum 28-day contract.

Grajczonek will be replaced by Rory Schlein at Coventry on Friday but at the time of writing there was no stand-in for Starke.

Both Grajczonek and Starke are absent due to Somerset commitments.

PIRATES: (from) Chris Holder, Josh Grajczonek, Dakota North, Kacper Gomolski, Maciej Janowski, Paul Starke, Kyle Newman.

HAMMERS: (from) Andreas Jonsson, Kim Nilsson, Mikkel Bech, Edward Kennett, Richard Lawson, Adam Ellis, Ashley Birks.