NEIL Middleditch revealed Pirates had already made team plans for 2020 and insisted: “We will be back.”

The defending SGB Premiership champions were stunned after throwing away a 10-point first leg lead against Ipswich on Saturday, succumbing to a 94-86 aggregate play-off semi-final defeat.

But Middleditch, who last season sealed his eighth league title with the Dorset club, insisted work had already begun for next year’s campaign.

He told the Daily Echo: “We have had this before.

The thing is everybody demands success from the Pirates and we (him and Matt Ford) have had plenty of it, don’t get me wrong.

“Eight titles is a pretty enviable record to have. All the Poole haters would have loved seeing us get beaten but hey ho, we will be back.

“We are already making team plans for next year. We have got the ball rolling.”

Pirates finish their campaign with a home clash against King’s Lynn in the Premiership Supporters’ Cup on October 9.