Poole Town chairman Chris Reeves has revealed why the club parted company with long-serving manager Tom Killick, writes Dexter Allison and Freddie Clark.
Reeves told BUzz News that the club had wanted to bring in Matt Tubbs to join the coaching team, but Killick had not wanted to change the set-up.
“We couldn’t convince Tom to change the coaching so the decision has been made and things are going very well,” Reeves said.
The difficult decision to replace Killick with Tubbs shocked the Non-League community after the Dolphins made a good start to the season taking 10 points from their first five matches in the Southern League Premier South.
However, it was one that Poole’s board could not take lightly.
Reeves added: “The results were good, but we felt like the performances were not so good.”
Some may have assumed it was a sudden decision, but Reeves explained that the club had been looking at improving the coaching for a number of years.
“Matt is somebody we identified as someone who would be able to do that,” Reeves said.
He added that it had not been easy to part ways with Killick after 20 years at the club.
He described the board’s thought process as having to “let our heads rule our hearts” as the club is targeting promotion to National League South. The Dolphins narrowly missed out on going up through the play-offs last season.
The decision also saw the exit of Killick’s coaching team and experienced players Will Spetch, Corby Moore and Jack Dickson as well as assistant manager, Micky Hubbard, who is pursuing a coaching role for Wessex League Totton & Eling.
Following the early reshuffle, which also saw the addition of Joe Roach as assistant manager and James Ellis, Leon Scott and Mark Phillips on the coaching team, Reeves described the atmosphere in the dressing room as “first class”.
Tubbs’ side have managed to register three wins in five, and currently sit just outside the play-off positions after nine games. They are also still in the FA Trophy.
Poole are looking to continue their good form when they travel to Basingstoke tomorrow (Saturday 14 October), kick-off at 3pm.
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