CHRIS Holder insists nearly every team in the Elite League has been nothing special this season and says the Pirates camp are not stressed by their current position.

Poole are five points outside the play-off spots ahead of tonight's home clash with King's Lynn, the meeting set to end a month-long break from action for the Dorset side (7.30pm).

Pirates are bidding to earn a fourth straight league title, a feat not accomplished in the top flight of British speedway since Wimbledon Dons achieved it in the old National League in 1961.

And while the Wimborne Road outfit may not be riding as high as they would wish, Holder says most of the sides in the league are in a similar boat, apart from table-toppers Wolverhampton.

Holder told the Daily Echo: "I think it's only really Wolves that have been quite good. Every other team has been nothing special.

"We have been a bit hit and miss but we're not stressing out just yet. We've been in worse positions.

"We can get it together to make the play-offs and we have the boys there to do it, so it's up to us to get it done.

"Over two legs, we've got to be one of the favourites. We have just got to get there. The main aim is to do that and then we will see what happens."

Poole will be without hometown hero Kyle Newman for the visit of the Stars with Paul Starke, who impressed at Wimborne Road last season, standing in for the sidelined ace.

Newman, who sustained a broken collarbone in a Premier League meeting at Peterborough last week, is hoping for a swift return but the King's Lynn clash has come too soon.

Holder added: "We don't have too many fixtures coming up which is good for Kyle as he won't miss too many meetings.

"But we will need everybody back for the second half of the season so we can really get going and make a push for the top spots.

"Hopefully, we can get a good win under our belt against King's Lynn and keep building where we left off before we had the break."

Adam Ellis returns to the Pirates septet having recovered from the broken collarbone he sustained at Swindon at the end of last month. Pirates legend Bjarne Pedersen will race at reserve after dropping out of the main body of the team.

The Stars are also set to track a guest with Coventry's Chris Harris – fresh from picking up a bronze medal in the Grand Prix in Prague – due to cover for the unavailable Niels-Kristian Iversen.

Pirates: Hans Andersen, Krzysztof Buczkowski, Adam Ellis, Chris Holder, Brady Kurtz, Bjarne Pedersen, Paul Starke (guest). Team manager: Neil Middleditch.

King's Lynn: Troy Batchelor, Chris Harris (guest), Mads Korneliussen, Robert Lambert, Lewis Rose, Nikolai Busk Jakobsen, Simon Lambert. Team manager Rob Lyon.