POOLE boss Gary Havelock has vowed that “second place is not acceptable” at the club.
The Wessex Marine Pirates take on Oxford in a mouthwatering Cab Direct Championship top of the table clash at Wimborne Road tonight, live on BSN.
But 1992 World Champ Havvy insists that there is something special on the seaside as the Cheetahs threaten their second tier domination.
He said: “We don’t need any help motivating. The boys understand the Poole ethos now. Most of them have been around for at least a year or more.
“When you ride for Poole, second place is not acceptable. I find it a compliment when people start sour graping.
“This year we built the team differently instead of having a strong top three. But Ben has absolutely stepped up to the plate. He’s riding like a heat leader and doing fabulous.”
Havelock also revealed that he tried to talk Matt Ford out of buying the club during the winter of 1998.
But Ford ignored Havvy and the incredible story of silverware has unfolded since the turn of the century.
He said: “Everybody knows what I feel about Poole, it’s my second home.
“I had four of the best years of my career at Wimborne Road.
“Right at the beginning when Matt took over, I was there when he was the main sponsor in 1998.
“That winter he bought the club even though I spent the entire close season trying to persuade him not to!
“Thank God he didn’t listen to me because this 25-year love affair might not have happened or this golden era for the Pirates.”The only change to the line-ups is that former Poole rider Nathan Ablitt guests for his former club with Adam Roynon out with a broken shoulder blade.
Oxford boss Peter Schroeck said: “This fixture has been underlined in our calendar for some time now. Poole is a club stacked with history with an outstanding fanbase and rivalries aside we always look forward to our meetings against the Pirates.
“They’re the most successful club of this millennia, but that only makes us more determined to get the win and cause an upset.
“We dominated the home leg and have a defendable lead with regards to the aggregate bonus point. But we are looking beyond that. We know we have the firepower and travel to Dorset in search of three points.”
POOLE: Richard Lawson, Kyle Newman, Ben Cook, Zach Cook, Steve Worrall, Anders Rowe, Nathan Ablitt (G).
OXFORD: Sam Masters, Henry Atkins, Lewis Kerr, Jordan Jenkins, Scott Nicholls, Cameron Heeps, Luke Killeen.
Words by Holeshot Media.
Images by Taylor Lanning.