MATT Ford insisted Poole Pirates would not try to coax Darcy Ward away from the right loan move and that one British club leads the rat race for his signature.

The Daily Echo understands Poole asset Ward, whose 10-month ban for failing an alcohol test ended at midnight on Saturday, will join fierce foes Swindon for the rest of 2015.

Ward, who has returned to Australia to sort out a visa, was unable to confirm his destination when contacted by the Echo last week but posted on social media site Twitter that he expected to know by Friday.

With Pirates chief Ford unwilling to break up a successful team, Ward has the right to pick where he wants to go and Swindon are thought to be willing to sacrifice Grzegorz Zengota to make the move happen.

And although Ford politely declined to comment directly on the Robins link, he admitted one of the 23-year-old’s Elite League suitors had stolen a march.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “As things stand, he has one definite offer from a club. I am led to believe one or two others would like to bring him in but those moves may not be possible for different reasons.

“It would be fair to say one club is favourite to benefit from his services. We have not dictated to Darcy at all but teams towards the top of the table find themselves in a similar situation to us in having to make more than one change, which brings its own headache.

“With no prospect of a recall whatsoever, we kept it open for as long as we could but ultimately, we would not want to stop anyone from earning a living.

"Darcy has his contracts in Sweden and Poland to consider. For a long time, it was not a foregone conclusion that he would ride in the UK. At this point, it is important that any move is the right one for his career."

Meanwhile, Pirates face another familiar foe when they head to play-off rivals King’s Lynn for a live televised Sky meeting tonight (7.30pm).

Poole asset Vaclav Milik recently signed for the Stars to cover the absence of long-term injury victim Rory Schlein

Ford added: “You would not have expected them to use rider replacement in the long term. Vaclav fitted the bill for them and I must say, I was very disappointed not to be able to offer him something in 2015.

“King’s Lynn deserved their victory when we last rode there, even if we did take it to the wire. It is a track we should have rode better at.

"Everyone will need to come to the party if we are to gain victory. We are more than capable of winning up there, we just need all the boys to perform on the day.”

Kacper Gomolski is expected to ride at two with Davey Watt at four at the Adrian Flux Arena. Both teams name full sides.

King’s Lynn: (from) Niels-Kristian Iversen, Nicklas Porsing, Kenneth Bjerre, Robert Lambert, Vaclav Milik, Lewis Kerr, Ashley Morris. Team manager: Rob Lyon.

Poole Pirates: Chris Holder, Kacper Gomolski, Dakota North, Davey Watt, Maciej Janowski, Paul Starke, Kyle Newman. Team manager: Neil Middleditch.