PIRATES heat leader Bjarne Pedersen is calling on the club's promoters to fix up enough challenge matches to make sure their Elite League title tilt remains on track.

Poole RIAS need to secure two points from their home and away clashes against Belle Vue to ensure they finish on top of the table.

That would mean that even if Wolves won all their remaining four fixtures, the Dorset club would still progress directly into the two-legged play-off final as the top team at the end of the regular season.

The second, third, fourth and fifth-placed sides would then have to play-off through a series of one-off quarter-finals and semi-finals to determine who would line up against Pirates in the final.

Poole's next match is at home to Belle Vue on Thursday, September 9 and a date has yet to be fixed for their trip to Kirky Lane for the return.

Pirates are also in the semi-final of the Knockout Cup as they look to repeat their top-flight double of last season when they won the league and cup.

However, they won't know their last-four opponents until after Swindon have met the winners of an as yet uncompleted first round tie between Belle Vue and Coventry in the quarter-finals.

The other confirmed semi-finalists Arena-Essex also have to wait to learn who they will meet in the last four, either Eastbourne or Ipswich, whose quarter-final is still outstanding.

So it seems obvious that the latter stages of that competition are probably not going to be run until mid to late October after the league play-offs have been completed.

The play-off dates have already been set - with Sky Sports' live television coverage determining the dates - for Monday, September 20 (quarter-finals) and Monday, September 27 (semi-finals).

So that could leave Pirates without a league or cup fixture between now and, if they qualify for the final as expected, the first leg, which would be away, on Monday, October 4.

The second leg and eventual title showdown would be at Wimborne Road on Monday, October 11.

With that in mind, Pedersen today said: "If we do finish top, I think the most important thing is that our promoters get some more meetings on for us.

"That is really important. We aren't scheduled to meet anyone at home after Belle Vue come to Poole on September 9 between then and the play-offs.

"So in the last two weeks before the final we need to get out there on the track and race against good quality opposition.

"We can't afford to go into the final lacking match or race fitness, while our opponents would have the benefit of racing in league action.

"It is really important to get some meetings on because we want to go in having matches under our belts, so challenges up to the final would be great."

Pedersen, who was scheduled to return to action last night for Masarna in Sweden following a short lay-off because of injury, is not counting out the fact that Wolves could still pip Poole to first place.

The Dane, who sustained head and leg injuries in a track spill at Oxford on Friday, said: "It would be special to finish on top of the table.

"But Wolves still have matches in hand, although they need to win them all, home and away, and hope we slip up, so it will be difficult for them.

"It would be really great if we finish on top because that would be the culmination of a whole season's work up until now.

"But the destination of the title is all down to those play-off meetings in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

"It is up to those meetings. All we can do is try to have good meetings because anything can happen in the final."

Poole have no home meeting tonight or on Wednesday, September 15, but they do stage the Elite League Riders' Championship on Sunday, September 12 at 4pm when Pedersen and Ryan Sullivan will be representing Pirates.

The Dorset club are definitely going to organise challenge matches for Wednesdays September 22 and 29 but their opponents are not known at the moment.

In two of the past three years Poole have hosted meetings that have involved Polish riders and they might do so again later this month.

Poles lined up in a meeting between Pirates and a Mark Loram Select in 2001, which the Dorset club lost 58-32, and 12 months later a Polish Select went down 57-33 against Poole.

So it would be no surprise if a meeting involving Poles was fixed up again this year.