TITLE-WINNING promoter Danny Ford admitted Pirates “know we are hated” by other onlookers in speedway but insisted that spurred on the club even more.

In his first full season having taken over the reins from father, owner Matt, Poole have secured a league and cup double.

Having beaten Edinburgh to seal cup glory at Wimborne Road last week, Pirates returned to their home venue to overturn a 10-point first leg deficit against Glasgow.

Rory Schlein (11+1) and Danny King (11+1) led the charge as Poole thumped the Tigers 56-34 on home shale, sealing a 96-84 aggregate win.

Speaking to the Daily Echo after the meeting, Ford said: “Love us or hate us, you cannot deny that we are a successful club and that will not change, no matter what league we are in.

“Everyone always says we are the Manchester United of speedway. I hope we are not the Manchester United any more because Manchester United aren’t overly successful at the minute!

“But you need to have these teams. It’s everyone’s common enemy isn’t it? We don’t mind it, we relish it.

“We know we are hated but that pushes us harder to be better every year.

“It’s going to be tough to surpass this year in winning the double. I felt we had been really, really dominant this year.

“When we have had injuries or things not going our way, we knew we had it in the tank to bounce back. What we’ve shown in the past two weeks with two trophies in the cabinet is testament to that.”

Pirates came to the fore this campaign after British Speedway was effectively wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic during 2020.

Ford added: “At the start of the year it was more about just getting through the season, you know?

“We knew the team we put together had potential. We knew that deep down but our focus was the get through the season, survive it and that would be an achievement in itself.

“We did that and achieved the first goal. We said if we could achieve that, whatever comes would be a bonus.

“As soon as that was achieved the focus shifted to silverware – and that’s what this club is all about.

“People hate us for it but we are a club that is built on success.”