ALUN Rossiter reckons he has a pantomime villain persona among some Poole fans.

And perhaps it is not difficult to see why when you consider the Swindon boss, a three-time league winner at Wimborne Road as a rider, has derailed Pirates’ title hopes twice in recent seasons.

Rossiter sunk Neil Middleditch’s side in the Elite League play-off finals of 2010 and 2012 while in charge of Coventry and Swindon, respectively.

The Bees staged arguably the most sensational fightback in Elite League history when they recovered from a poor start to the campaign and blasted into the play-offs before seeing off Pirates 101-79 on aggregate in the final.

Rossiter repeated the feat two years later when, following his return to Swindon, he brought the Robins to Dorset and sealed a 96-89 triumph spearheaded by the inspired Peter Kildemand.

Poole had endured an up-and-down season that year in terms of injury and rider availability.

Having embarked on a club-record 18-match winning run early on, Pirates temporarily lost Darcy Ward to a broken hand and then in-form Polish charger Adrian Miedzinski elected to quit British racing, with Krzysztof Kasprzak enlisted to stand in.

Not long before the play-offs, the jinx struck again.

Teenager Piotr Pawlicki, himself a replacement for broken leg victim Dennis Andersson, aggravated a shoulder injury which saw his season end prematurely.

Pirates operated rider replacement for the Pole at Blunsdon and were subjected to a 51-44 defeat, this despite a 15-point haul from Ward and an additional 13 from his Turbo Twin Chris Holder, with Kasprzak weighing in with 10 useful points.

Team boss Neil Middleditch might have considered seven points a workable deficit but Poole’s title hopes were thrown into disarray when they lost the services of the inspirational Ward, who was hospitalised by an off-track assault which left him with a bleed on the brain.

In the absence of the mercurial Aussie, Chris Harris was drafted in and did a serviceable job, totalling eight paid nine in the return clash.

Kasprzak was in stunning form with a bumper haul of 16 while Holder did his best to make up for the absence of his close friend with 12 paid 13.

But Swindon, seeking their first top-flight title in 45 years, were not to be denied and a 3-3 in heat 12 sealed it, Kildemand and reserve Seb Alden finishing second and third to ensure glory.

Interviewed following the confirmation of the Robins’ triumph, Rossiter was unable to contain himself and screamed “champions” into the microphone.

The team boss had every reason to be proud. While Kildemand had excelled with an 11-point salvo, the key to Swindon’s triumph was solidity. Hans Andersen and Simon Stead weighed in with eight points apiece, while Troy Batchelor added a further seven to the cause.

The fact Swindon had suffered a 45-44 defeat on the night was academic. In the grand scheme of things, it was enough.

Speaking ahead of his return to Dorset tonight, Rossiter admitted the win on Pirates shale had been one of his proudest moments in management.

He told the Daily Echo: “I seem to be the pantomime villain with a new group of Poole fans.

“I like to remind them that my teams are the ones who have stopped Poole’s dominance, otherwise Poole would have dominated speedway from 2010 up until now.

“That’s probably why I am the villain. We all remember 2010 and then 2012 as well, that was at Wimborne Road and it doesn’t get much better than that.

“My memories of being a rider down there are fantastic. My wife’s side of the family live down there so I’m in Poole quite a lot.

“I have frequented a few places and Poole fans come up and talk to you, which is really nice.

“I get stick from a distance from some fans but the genuine supporters are very welcoming.”

Pirates 45 (89): 1 Chris Harris, guest (2-3-1-2*) 8+1, 2 Ricky Kling (0-1*-1-1*-0) 3+2, 3 Chris Holder (2-2-3-3-2*) 12+1, 4 Piotr Pawlicki – rider replacement, Krzysztof Kasprzak (3-2-2-3-3-3) 16, 6 Ludvig Lindgren (f-0-0-0-1) 1, 7 Linus Eklof (2-0-2-1) 5.

Robins 44 (96): 1 Hans Andersen (1-3-3-x-1) 8, 2 Simon Stead (3-1-3-1) 8, 3 Peter Kildemand (3-3-3-2-r) 11, 4 Nick Morris (0-1-2*-2) 5+1, 5 Troy Batchelor (2-2-2-1) 7, 6 Dawid Lampart (f-fx-0) 0, 7 Seb Alden (3-1*-0-1*-0) 5+2.