MATT Ford declared himself pleased with his new Pirates line-up despite admitting frustration over losing four title-winning stars.

The Wimborne Road chief will be without former skipper Maciej Janowski, Dakota North, Kacper Gomolski and Paul Starke next year – all of which played their part as Poole grabbed a third straight Elite League title.

Krzysztof Buczkowski, Hans Andersen, Brady Kurtz and Adam Ellis have been brought in with Poole dipping under the 40.5 points limit by 0.57.

Lifting the lid on his mixed feelings, Ford told the Daily Echo: "There are always a few things to take into consideration when you are offering contracts and I would have liked to keep more of a championship-winning team.

"We've only ended up with only three of last year's squad, which is a crying shame.

"However, when I told Rick Frost, our main team sponsor, about our team he almost couldn't believe it was so strong.

"I feel confident bearing in mind the other teams that are being put together – and there are some very competitive teams.

"But I feel that we have strength in depth right down to Adam Ellis at the bottom and I'm pleased with the one-to-seven."

Pirates are due to take on Coventry in the Elite Shield on March 16 and March 18.