PIRATES promoter Danny Ford hopes victory in last week's SGB Championship play-off final can be the "catalyst" for Poole to "build for the future".

Ford confirmed Pirates would again be looking to ride at this level next year, having also won the Knockout Cup.

It has been more than two years since Poole announced their decision to drop out of the Premiership and into the second tier for the first time since 1990, after the club was hit hard financially throughout 2019.

After the 2020 campaign was wiped out due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pirates finally turned a wheel again in May of this year, eventually going on to clinch both trophies they competed for.

Asked if the plan is to stay in the Championship in 2022 to try and retain what they won this year, Ford told the Daily Echo: “Absolutely, that’s the goal.

“It’s not going to be easy. I spoke to a few of the Glasgow guys and they said they were coming for us next year.

“I have no doubt they will be upping it and one of the teams chasing us next year.

“It’s a fickle sport speedway, you know? You can be really successful one season and then you’ve got to completely do a u-turn the next.

“We hope this gives us a catalyst in this league now and we can build for the future.

“We know we have a great team of lads here, hopefully we can keep the majority of them but we know we need to be competitive again next year.

“The work starts throughout the winter preparing for next year."