Bob Brimson today demanded his Eagles raise their game, despite the Good Friday win at home to Poole.
Eagles' 49-41 success was not enough to clinch a first bonus point of the season after they lost by 16 at Wimborne Road earlier in the day.
Poole 5-1s in heats 14 and 15 of their home meeting eventually proved decisive in the battle for the bonus.
But it could have been worse given Poole trailed only 22-20 at Arlington after Jason Crump and Bjarne Pedersen had taken just two rides apiece. At that stage the meeting looked to be in the balance but Nicki Pedersen's maximum and Lewis Bridger's paid 17 helped clinch the win with one race in hand.
Brimson was delighted to get a win and to see 2,000 fans make their way to the Sussex circuit.
But the Eagles promoter said: "I really wasn't happy with the manner of the defeat in the afternoon.
"We totally defeated ourselves in the pits. We were winning the meeting, we had a few things go wrong on the track, some bad refereeing and we beat ourselves.
"All of a sudden we didn't want to ride.
"We weren't riding as a team. That's why we got beat, quite rightly, by 16 points.
"We should never have lost by 16 points, we should have won that meeting."
Eagles got just one point from four replacement rides for Davey Watt at Poole.
Contrast that with six paid seven from Watt's rides at Arlington.
Brimson added: "Lewis is doing great covering for Davey. All the boys are. But even with that we are ten per cent shy.
"We are letting things slip. We shouldn't be losing at Belle Vue.
"We could have picked up the bonus point on Friday, if not won away at Poole.
"Everybody has got to raise their game. It's not good enough.
"We are two (wins) and four (defeats) and that's not good enough."
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