PIRATES boss Matt Ford admitted his decision to agree a Jason Doyle-Maciej Janowski swap deal five years ago had "potentially" been the wrong call.

Ford feels Janowski did an "unbelievable job" in helping Poole to three straight Elite League titles following his move from Swindon.

The Polish star captained the side to the second and third of these triumphs in 2014 and 2015, becoming a fans' favourite in the process.

However, Doyle's progress since his Pirates exit has been rapid, culminating in 2017 world championship glory and a second top-flight title with the Robins.

The Aussie charger was ruled out of the Swindon's team plans for the upcoming season due in part to the controversial 'one over eight' rule and he subsequently rejoined Somerset.

And Ford revealed how, in hindsight, he would have loved to have kept the world number one on his asset list despite his huge admiration for what Janowski achieved in Dorset.

Ford told the Daily Echo: "Given Doyley's success, you have to look from afar and be slightly envious of the fact he is a Swindon asset.

"Jason suffered dreadfully with shoulder injuries at Poole and just five years ago, at the age of 27, he was still riding in the second tier in Britain.

"It goes to show that sometimes in life, people mature later and by Jason's own admission, meeting his partner Emily has been the catalyst from him going from a good rider to an excellent one.

"Although Maciej came in and did an unbelievable job and would always remain in our thoughts if he chose to come back to the UK, I am slightly licking our wounds.

"Maciej is immensely important to us but the flipside is Jason went away and became an excellent rider.

"Did I get it wrong when I did the swap? The truth is that potentially I did.

"Longevity is paramount in my eyes and Jason is still riding in the UK, although you have to accept Maciej did an incredible job and what he did will go down in history."