ALUN Rossiter has issued a rallying call to Swindon Robins fans ahead of the club’s must-win fixture against Poole Pirates at the Abbey Stadium tonight.

A bumper crowd is expected as the Robins welcome Neil Middleditch’s Pirates to Wiltshire in a meeting that Swindon must win if they are to keep hopes of appearing in the end-of-season play-offs alive.

The Robins have suffered defeats in four of their last five meetings – that includes a devastating home loss against Belle Vue Aces – which severely dented hopes of achieving a top-four spot.

While Rossiter’s troops were hit by two damaging losses on the road at Wolverhampton Wolves and Poole last week, the Robins chief vows the club will keep fighting for a play-off spot until it is mathematically out of their reach.

He said: “Poole will be on the ball, but our boys have been riding over the weekend so I’m confident in our ability.

“We’ve done quite a bit of work on the track over the season. Sunday’s weather didn’t help but fingers crossed it will stay dry until tapes up.

“We’ve got to win these meetings to give ourselves a chance. We just have to rely on results elsewhere going in our favour.”

Swindon will be without reserve Jack Smith after he continued to suffer from the effects of a crash while racing for National League outfit Belle Vue Colts against the Buxton Hitmen at the National Speedway Stadium on Friday night.

Otherwise, it’s an unchanged Robins team, with Australian Troy Batchelor leading the charge – usual suspects Nick Morris and Tobiasz Musielak fill the heat leader roles.

A win will mean the Robins’ play-off hopes remain alive for another week, although next Thursday’s meeting against Belle Vue will carry just as much pressure should Swindon come out on top tonight.

“We always get good support at home and the boys will be keen to put things right,” said Rossiter.

“We’ll be doing our best.

“We’re without Jack (Smith) as he’s still suffering following a crash on Friday.”

Meanwhile, Wednesday’s crushing loss at Poole will count for little come heat one tonight.

A trio of 5-1s in the concluding three heats made the result look worse on paper than reality, especially after both Adam Ellis and Musielak tangled in a horrifying third bend spill in heat seven.

That spill ruled Ellis out of his Championship meeting for Lakeside Hammers the following evening, while Musielak admitted to be suffering from pain in his knee.

Rossiter said: “It was a loss, but we were in contention from the start. It just went wrong towards the end.

“I can’t put my finger on what went wrong, we tried hard enough.”

Tapes up for tonight’s meeting takes place at 7.30pm.

Gates will open at 6pm and the riders will be present outside the club office for an autograph session until 6.30pm. Each rider will have a stack of photos to sign for supporters.

The club are also running a promotion for a special signed ‘Tapes Up Ted’, which can be obtained by the highest bidder in a secret auction. All proceeds will go to the BEN Fund. Entry will be available on the night.

The riders will also be going into the crowd during the interval for the annual BEN Fund collection.