PIRATES boss Matt Ford admitted he had been gutted not to re-sign Kacper Woryna but insisted: “He will have his time with us again.”

Last season, Brady Kurtz was the only Poole rider to bank more heat wins than club asset Woryna, who started the year on a 4.65 average and ended it on 6.36.

However, Ford elected to leave the Polish star and SGB Premiership winner out of his team plans for the new campaign.

Explaining his reasons, Ford told the Daily Echo: “I loved working with Kacper and it was the most heart-wrenching decision I had to make in the off-season.

“He lived with me and my wife, as did Frederik Jakobsen, and it doesn’t get any harder than having to tell a friend you can’t offer him a place in your starting line-up.

“If it hadn’t been for financial restrictions, he would have been lining up for us this season.

“It came down to a decision with two riders and little more than 10 points left.

“I could have gone with Kacper and a three-and-a-half point rider or two near five-point riders, and I chose to go with the latter – Richie Worrall and Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen.

“I felt that would give us a better edge overall. Kacper’s home form was very good but his away form could be patchy and he did have a disappointing final at King’s Lynn.

“Every year there is one you look at and think: ‘I’m not happy about doing this’. Last year, it was Jack Holder and this year it was Kacper Woryna.

“But I know it’s not for good. I know he will have his time with us again – even potentially in 2019.”

Ford's septet for the upcoming campaign comprises Jack Holder, Brady Kurtz, Josh Grajczonek, Nicolai Klindt, Richie Worrall, Nico Covatti and Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen.

Holder will start the season at number one having spent 2018 on loan at Somerset, where he flourished.

And while Ford admits the line-up does not contain a big name of the ilk the club has been used to in the past – such as Chris Holder or Darcy Ward – he says the team's all-round strength could prove crucial.

Ford said: “I’ve tried to pick a solid one-to-seven.

“It could be pointed out that we haven’t got a superstar at number one but I believe there are only two of those in the league – Jason Doyle and Robert Lambert.

“Jack will hold his own against many of the others in the bracket of Max Fricke, Hans Andersen, Kenneth Bjerre and Craig Cook.

“We have a team of riders who can all win races and that’s important."

As well as Woryna, the other riders from the title-winning side to miss out on a return were Jakobsen and Chris Harris.

The latter had earned a spot with Peterborough for 2019 but was released following the sale of the club.