WIMBORNE Road chief Matt Ford hopes the stark warning he delivered last week can inspire Poole to an unprecedented fourth straight Elite League crown.

A furious Ford took the unusual step of laying bare his frustrations mid-meeting as Pirates narrowly missed out on a losing point at Swindon.

Following heat 10, the promoter stated in no uncertain terms that silverware would not be coming anywhere near Dorset if his team continued to underperform.

Ford's riders reacted well and were unfortunate to leave Blunsdon empty-handed, before the reigning champions destroyed Leicester on home shale on Wednesday.

And with a crucial clashes at leaders Belle Vue (12noon) and Leicester (7.45pm) on the menu today, Ford hopes his troops can continue their crusade for top spot.

He told the Daily Echo: "The team understands the importance of it. They were left in no uncertain terms during the course of the Swindon match when we had a talk after heat 10 and I stated my feelings about the performance.

"That was certainly a fixture where we let ourselves down and there won't be one member of the team that didn't understand my thoughts and words.

"It was stated that if this was the kind of performance we were going to give in the play-offs, then we wouldn't stand a hope of making the final, let alone becoming champions.

"It looks like we could be going to Wolverhampton in the semi-final and we need to up our game to have any form of chance against them home and away.

"Clearly, the response has been good and if we don't come top, I'm absolutely sure it won't be for a lack of trying."

King's Lynn's shock win at Belle Vue last week reinvigorated Poole's hopes of finishing top during the regular season – and therefore earning the choice of play-off semi-final opponents.

Ford added: "We need to try to capitalise on that and see if we can do something ourselves at Belle Vue and just as crucially, at Leicester.

"Belle Vue's riders have said it is the kick up the backside that they needed so we need to be just as competitive."

Poole have no meeting scheduled for Wednesday with Belle Vue due to make the trip to Wimborne Road on Thursday (7.30pm).

Belle Vue: (from) Craig Cook, Max Fricke, Scott Nicholls, Steve Worrall, Matej Zagar, Joe Jacobs, Richie Worrall.

Leicester: (from) guest or rider replacement for Patrick Hougaard, Nicolai Klindt, Paul Starke, Aaron Summers, Szymon Wozniak, Josh Auty, Ludvig Lindgren.

Pirates: (from) Hans Andersen, Krzysztof Buczkowski, Adam Ellis, Brady Kurtz, Chris Holder, Kyle Newman, Bjarne Pedersen.

Chris Holder closed the gap on Grand Prix series leader Greg Hancock thanks to a good night's work in Gorzow.

The Pirates star banked 15 points in the Polish city which included three victories in his qualifying rides.

Ex-Poole charger Jason Doyle won the meeting with Tai Woffinden second, Holder third and Bartosz Zmarzlik fourth.