PIRATES boss Matt Ford admitted he still rued the title that got away – after Neil Middleditch convinced him not to sign Nicki Pedersen.

Ford had been close to sealing a deal for the Danish star ahead of the 2002 season but brought back Gary Havelock instead following discussions with team manager Middleditch.

Pirates ended up reaching the play-off quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Coventry. Pedersen, meanwhile, joined King's Lynn and won the first of his three world titles the following year.

Ford told the Daily Echo: "In the early days I used to put the team through Neil more than I have done in the past 15 years or so.

"I remember Neil convincing me to keep Gary Havelock when I was on the verge of signing Nicki Pedersen. And that was the year Nicki broke through and became world class.

"To this day, I still feel that while Gary was an admirable captain and did a great job, I believe we would have won if I had done what my head told me to do at the start of the year."