SWINDON Robins face a must-win fixture against Poole Pirates at Wimborne Road tonight if they are to keep hopes of defending their SGB Premiership play-off Championship alive.

Alun Rossiter’s troops crashed to a 53-37 loss at Monmore Green against Pete Adams’ Wolverhampton Wolves on Monday night, making tonight’s fixture a last roll of the dice for the Robins in their quest to poach a top-four spot.

It’s been a season of ups and downs for the Robins having secured early away victories at Poole and Leicester, coupled with a Charity Shield win against Belle Vue Aces and an unbeaten home run which stretched into July.

But poor away form has seen the Blunsdon outfit fail to secure an away league point in their last 10 trips on the road, a statistic which could ultimately hurt the Abbey Stadium men when it comes to the season’s conclusion.

While Swindon remain in the play-off zone ahead of tonight’s meeting, chasing teams Wolverhampton and King’s Lynn have four and five meetings in hand respectively – despite only trailing the Robins by a single league point.

Team manager Alun Rossiter admits his side have run out of steam towards the tail-end of the season, adding that called-for team changes midway through the season may not have paid the dividends some fans might expect.

He said: “We seem to be running out of steam, we’ve done well all season really.

“We’ve been in the top two all year. But when we need to be on it, we’re not.

“I didn’t see where dropping one rider out would benefit us, I would have had to make two changes to make our team slightly better at the bottom.

“I don’t think it would make that much of a difference.”

The Robins will again be facing weakened opposition as Pirates are set to miss Dane Nicolai Klindt while Mark Riss will guest in place of Frederik Jakobsen.

But after introducing three-times British champion Chris Harris to their ranks following Rye House’s departure from the league, Rossiter understands the challenge that awaits his men.

He said: “Poole are a lot stronger now. It’s not impossible, we’ve got to go there and give it our best shot.”

PIRATES: Brady Kurtz, Josh Grajczonek, Richie Worrall, RR for Nicolai Klindt, Chris Harris, Kacper Woryna, Mark Riss (guest).

ROBINS: Troy Batchelor, David Bellego, Adam Ellis, Tobiasz Musielak, Nick Morris, Zach Wajtknecht, Jack Smith.

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