MATT Ford has ordered Bjarne Pedersen to become more “selfish” in a bid to get his stuttering Pirates career back on track.

Poole’s chief wants the shy, softly spoken Danish rider to be meaner out on the shale after revealing he’d given Pedersen a dramatic Pirates reprieve for 2010.

Pedersen’s average plunged alarmingly from 9.13 to 7.76 last season as the Dorset club also slumped to second bottom after being Elite League champions in 2008.

After Davey Watt was named as the Dane’s successor as Poole Castle Cover captain last week, it looked like the former Grand Prix rider was about to be shown the Wimborne Road exit door.

But Ford told the Echo: “I’ve no doubt Bjarne will grab this chance to come back with both hands.

“I think what made Bjarne a better rider earlier in his career was when he was a lot more single-minded.

“Although it might mean he makes more mistakes by going for a piece of track where another team-mate is going, I’m happy with him doing that.

“We need him to be a lot more selfish in claiming his racing position.

“While he is part of a team, sometimes guys ride better when they only consider themselves in a race, and even though this can cause problems, I’m more than willing for this to happen.”

Pedersen’s return for a ninth-successive Pirates campaign means he links up again with fellow 2008 Elite League-title winning team-mates Chris Holder (8.76) and Watt (6.94).

Darcy Ward (4.56) and Leon Madsen (4.00) are also confirmed Poole starters, with Jason Doyle all but certain of filling one of the two remaining places.

Ford said: “Jason comes in on 4.38 should he be fit to ride.

“That would leave 4.55 for our last place, and contracts have been offered.

“I can’t reveal targets, but we were, unfortunately, not capable of meeting terms with one rider.

“While I feel very disappointed we’ve lost out on him, and I won’t name names, at times you have to justify costs, and I can’t justify that finance.

“We still have the option of taking a rider with a slightly higher average than Jason’s, or perhaps we can bring in someone on an average just below him.

“What I will say at this point is we aren’t considering double-up riders.”