World No. 1 Nicki Pedersen wants to stay with Eastbourne Eagles.

Pedersen, who makes his home debut at Arlington Stadium tomorrow night, said: "I am very happy to have joined the team and I would really love to stay at Eastbourne for future seasons."

The Danish ace was unemployed for less than 24 hours before he was snapped up by Eastbourne after being sensationally sacked by Oxford.

Pedersen, who has joined the Sussex club on loan until the end of the season, added: "It is my best contract ever here in the UK."

Eastbourne are also keen to keep Pedersen at Arlington. Team boss Jon Cook said: "We are having talks about extending Nicki's loan period past this season or buying him."

That would involve Eagles doing a deal with Elite League play-off rivals Wolverhampton, Pedersen's parent club, which would almost certainly shatter Eastbourne's transfer record of £25,000 for American Bobby Schwartz nearly 20 years ago.

By coincidence, Wolves are the team aiming to put the skids under Pedersen tomorrow night in a clash which is a must-win affair for Eastbourne.

The two sides, who battled out last season's play-off final, are engaged in a dog-fight to qualify for the knockout stages this time around.

Eagles are currently out of the top four for the first time this season after being overtaken by Wolves and Cook said: "We probably have to beat them home and away and win at Oxford to have a chance of getting into the play-offs."

Cook is also targeting maximum bonus points from Eastbourne's remaining fixtures, and that includes Poole after Wednesday's near-miss away to the runaway leaders.

Eagles landed 15 out of 16 bonus points last year in finishing top of the league. The haul is just four so far this season, which is one reason why the team have struggled.

A big turnout is anticipated for Pedersen's first Arlington appearance in an Eastbourne race jacket.

Cook said: "With all respect to the other riders, this match is all about Nicki Pedersen. We are expecting a bumper crowd for his home debut and an all-action display from Nicki.

"He has a great chance of becoming the next world champion and when have we been able to say that about an Eastbourne rider before?"

Eagles are banking on the dream team of Pedersen and Mark Loram to galvanise their season and launch them on a belated charge for the league title.

Loram will be back at No. 1 for the first time at Arlington since breaking his left arm in two places in a crash on Good Friday, while Pedersen rides at No. 5, giving Eagles a potential powerhouse pairing in two of the last three heats for the first time this season. It is easy to forget now, of course, but Pedersen rode in Eastbourne's last home match on June 21 when he rattled up 17 points from six rides for Oxford before the bust-up at the Silver Machine.

Eastbourne beat Wolves 47-42 in the opening match of the season way back on March 25.

It was no easy ride then, and it might not be again if Sam Ermolenko and David Howe get going to give the Karlsson brothers some back-up.

Kelvin Tatum, currently chasing his fourth world long track title, comes in for Adam Shields, who will be defending the Premier League pairs championship with Isle of Wight team-mate Danny Bird at Workington.

Scott Robson rides at reserve, while the visitors include former Eagle and Brighton Bonanza specialist Brent Werner.

Ironically, the top Eagle that night back in March was Joe Screen with 12 points.

Now Screen has gone, and a new era is dawning at Arlington. The Pedersen era.

Eastbourne: Mark Loram, David Norris, Dean Barker, Kelvin Tatum, Nicki Pedersen, Joonas Kylmakorpi, Scott Robson.

Wolverhampton: Mikael Max Karlsson, Sam Ermolenko, David Howe, Adam Skornicki, Peter Karlsson, Chris Neath, Brent Werner.

The start is at 7.30.