‘Can’t believe how good the fans are’ – Hagon hails ‘atmosphere’ at Poole Pirates

SAM Hagon says he “can’t believe how good the fans are” at Poole Pirates, as he hailed the “atmosphere” within the club.

Hagon is enjoying a stellar first season at Pirates, again starring on Wednesday night in the 45-45 losing draw at Oxford Cheetahs, scoring 12 points from six rides.

It takes the reserve’s overall tally to 82+7 this season for Poole from 11 meetings.

His form has also been eye-catching away from Pirates, earning himself a spot in the Premiership with Leicester Lions, as well as winning the recent British Under-21 Championship.

• ‘Wanted it so badly’ - Super Sam ‘speechless’ after U21 triumph

• INTERVIEW: ‘Sky is the limit’ – Ford pleased to see ‘calculated risk’ of signing Hagon pay off

Discussing his rapid improvement this season, the 19-year-old told the No Brakes, No Fear podcast: “I definitely didn’t think this time last year I would be where I am now.

“But I think I’ve always been underestimated and I always think that’s the best thing for me.

“I don’t think anyone expected Leicester to make the move they did, bringing me in.

“And I was a bit of a gamble I guess, with Poole, because I wasn’t particularly scoring great.

“I had a couple of good meetings. I was riding good, but I wasn’t scoring anything really and was injured towards the end of the year.

“But it’s pretty cool to be in the top league and Championship, which are new for me.

“But I think it’s the best thing for me, because I think I definitely can improve.

“I’m already improving little bits in the Championship and scoring pretty good.

“Hopefully I can continue that into the top league and have the right attitude and hope they can work with me.”

Sam Hagon has made a stunning start at Poole (Image: Richard Crease)

Asked how he has found his first few months at Pirates, Hagon added: “Poole has been pretty good. The whole atmosphere at the club is unbelievable, even the fans.

“I can’t actually believe how good the fans are at Poole. The atmosphere is unbelievable.

“It is a pretty cool place to be, obviously with the years of winning they’ve had.

“It’s definitely one of the best places to be, in my opinion.

“For me at the moment, it was definitely the best move, being with riders like that. We are doing very good, home and away, which is pretty good.

“I think we’ve got a good home advantage now, so we just need to keep building on that.

“I think we could definitely win the league this year. We just need to make sure at one to seven we all do our job.”

The 19-year-old continued: “If you need anything from Poole, they’ll help you.

“No matter who you are or who is helping you. We’ve done a couple of practices there and there’s always someone to help you.

“Everyone is willing to help you. They are desperate for the win, especially after losing last year, they want it even more.

“So they’re willing to take big risks and do as much as they can to win.

“Sometimes if you put too much pressure on yourself, you can go forwards or you can go backwards. I think, at Poole, if you don’t score, it’s hard, because obviously they want to win. But they are willing to work with you.

“It’s a good club to be at and I think we can win the league. We just all need to be scoring, I think that’s our biggest thing.”