PIRATES team manager Neil Middleditch insisted they would fight until the bitter end in their quest to reach the SGB Premiership play-offs.

Poole host fellow hopefuls Rye House tonight bidding to avoid an unprecedented fifth successive home defeat in the top flight (7.30pm).

Their faltering challenge has also seen them fail to pick up a league point from their past five matches.

Pirates have a six-point lead in the final play-off berth, although fifth-placed Somerset have two meetings in hand.

Middleditch said: “We will keep going until the end of the season.

"We are hanging on in fourth by our finger nails and the Rye House meeting will be important.”

Rye House also have aspirations for the final play-off place and are currently 10 points adrift of Pirates but with three matches in hand.

Rockets team boss Peter Schroeck insists they can still reach the play-offs despite a home defeat to high-flying Swindon on Saturday.

He said: “We have come into the part of the season now where we need to come up with the goods.

"We have been waiting a long time for this moment and now we have had a setback, but that doesn’t mean it’s over yet.”

Poole: Hans Andersen, Jack Holder, Edward Kennett, Brady Kurtz, Timo Lahti, James Shanes, Paul Starke.

Rye House: Ben Barker, Chris Harris, Scott Nicholls, Stuart Robson, Ricky Wells, Krzysztof Kasprzak, Ben Morley.