DANNY Ford believes August will be a “season-defining” month for Poole Pirates, as they look to continue building momentum.

Pirates remain unbeaten in the SGB Championship all season, sitting four points clear at the top of the standings and with a play-off place already all but mathematically secured.

Poole are chasing a treble, having also reached the semi-finals of both the Knockout Cup and BSN Series. They too will contest in the Championship Pairs event later this month.

Reflecting on three wins in the space of a week which powered them clear at the top of the standings, culminating in the 55-35 triumph over Glasgow Tigers last time out, Ford told the Daily Echo: “That’s what it’s all about now, just getting that momentum.

“Obviously play-offs are on the horizon now. I think it’s really important just to carry it on in that same kind of vain of form that we’ve been showing.

“But August is a big month for us. I think we’ve got seven fixtures already set.

“It’s kind of season-defining now. We’ve got another semi-final in the BSN lined up as well.

“It’s a big month, we’ve just got to carry on in that kind of form we’ve started to build.”

Asked what the aim will be for the next few league meetings, having topped the league standings last year, only to lose the grand final, Ford added: “I think last year we kind of ran out of steam at the end.

“We were waiting around for a few weeks for other fixtures to take place, which was frustrating.

“Play-offs now is only the top four, so hopefully there’s less waiting around, which will be nice.

“That’s what it’s all about. I think that momentum if you’re racing week in, week out and you’re going up against a team that hasn’t raced for a few weeks, you’re certainly at a huge advantage.

“Obviously last year injuries played their part for us right at the end. We’ve just got to keep everyone racing, keep everyone fit and I think we’ll just have to wait and see where that takes us.”

Pirates this week face two meetings with their nearest challengers Scunthorpe Scorpions.

They welcome Scorpions to Wimborne Road on Wednesday night, before heading to the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday (7.30pm). Vinnie Foord is set to miss both fixtures due to a shoulder injury.

Pirates thrashed Scunthorpe 60-29 in the KO Cup just two weeks ago.

“I think at this stage we’re two of the top three teams in the league, alongside Oxford as probably the ones who are most fancied to lift silverware this year," said Ford.

“It’s going to be tough. I imagine Scunthorpe are going to come at us a lot harder this time around.

“While we did beat them comfortably in the KO Cup leg at ours, we can’t really dwell on that too much.

“They obviously had a practice on our track a few weeks ago.

“We’re definitely in for a different proposition, but we need to build up a good lead to take to Scunthorpe in the return leg on Friday, because they’re certainly very strong on their home turf as well.

“It’s going to be a tough meeting, but we’re going not just to win at Poole, but to win at Scunthorpe as well."

Pirates: Lawson, Hagon, B Cook (c), Z Cook, Brennan, Thomsen, Trigger (guest).

Scunthorpe: Palm Toft, Lambert (c), Allen, Mountain, Howarth, Ablitt, Harrison.