POOLE Pirates have to “regroup as fast as possible” ahead of their Knockout Cup final first leg at Scunthorpe Scorpions this tomorrow (3pm) according to team promoter Danny Ford.

Pirates’ dominance on the second tier ended on Wednesday night, when they were unable to overhaul Glasgow Tigers first leg lead in the grand final at Wimborne Road.

It meant, for the first time since dropping down into the Championship, Pirates will be unable to complete a clean sweep of trophies, having won the league and cup double the last two seasons.

They will look to retain their Knockout Cup title by coming through a two-legged tie against Scunthorpe, which starts at the Eddie Wright Raceway this week.

Asked about the short turnaround between the grand final and tomorrow’s first leg, Ford told the Daily Echo: “That's really, really tough.

“We're gonna have to regroup.

“I don't quite know how because the boys are all really disappointed. They wanted this (league title) really bad and we were really up for it.

“So they're all as disappointed as I am.

“I'm not sure what we're going to do, but we have to regroup as fast as possible.

"Draw a line under (the grand final) and we're still got that cup to win.”

Pirates were in the same play-off group as the Scorpions last month in their quest for the Championship title, almost seeing their hopes dashed by Scunthorpe.

Having been held to a surprise home draw, Poole had to win at Scunthorpe in the reverse leg.

Their task was made tougher when Anders Rowe crashed out in heat one and was ruled out for the remainder of the meeting.

But six-man Pirates dug deep to win 50-40, with promoter Ford also stepping into the role as team manager for the night, after Gary Havelock withdrew late on due to the death of his mother.

Reflecting back on that night in Lincolnshire, Ford shared: “Our backs were against the wall.

“We were in a very, very difficult position, especially after losing Anders in heat one.

“It’s a track he has gone very well at in the past, so I thought he would be in for a good score.

“Losing him, we could only cover him with reserves.

“So you’re scratching your head with where to put them in and where we can make the most of that.

“But the six boys did absolutely fantastic and I think that’s probably one of the best Pirates performances we’ve potentially ever had.

“It was a great atmosphere in the pits and team spirit and the Pirate pride really pulled through."

Discussing his role as team boss, Ford added: “I don’t want to say I did too much, but I had a little bit of sway in it, I was doing my best to get the boys riled up and obviously picking which reserves to send out to cover each of Anders’ rides.

“It was a great thing to be part of. To be manager on that night was quite special as well.

“I’ve got to say that’s probably one of my highlights while being a speedway promoter. Maybe if not the highlight, other than the league titles.”

Asked if he has mentioned to his dad, club owner Matt, his record as team manager, Ford said: "I did it at home versus Birmingham, so I’ve got a 100 per cent record, one home win and one away, I’ll take that!

“But I don’t want to have to do it too much, it’s very stressful. It was one of those weird ones where I’ve had to do it twice this year, but it turned out all right.”