Ford: Club 'working hard' to find Worrall replacement

Danny Ford insisted the Pirates’ promotion was working “harder than ever” to draft in a replacement for injured Richie Worrall.

The Pirates have run rider replacement for the Brit since he suffered ankle damage against Belle Vue on June 27, with Ford’s remaining riders stepping up superbly.

But following last night’s 55-35 defeat at Wolverhampton and Thursday’s loss at Swindon, Ford confirmed the club was working hard to bolster their resources ahead of a potential play-off campaign.

He said: “The boys have been superb since Richie suffered his injury and have really put in some great rider replacement performances to ensure we were able to maintain our position in the top four.

“But it has meant we have been relying heavily on the performances of our top four and if one of them has an off-night, as we’ve seen against Swindon and Wolves, it puts a lot of pressure on Nico Covatti at reserve.

“And if he is struggling, we are vulnerable.”

The Pirates also saw captain Josh Grajczonek limp away mid-meeting last night at Monmore Green after he was involved in a heavy spill with team-mate Ricky Wells and Wolves’ Ryan Douglas.

Ford confirmed Grajczonek was a doubt for Thursday’s trip to Ipswich.

Ford added: “The past two meetings have been disappointing, but we’re still in a great position.

“We want to finish top, but we will need to bring in some points soon to do that as Swindon are in great form.”

The Witches last night made two changes to their septet ahead of the Pirates’ visit on Thursday, with Niels-Kristian Iversen and James Sargeant replacing Edward Kennett and Krystian Pieszczek.

Read the full report from last night’s meeting here.

Picture: Taylor Lanning.