Suraci: “We are definitely in a relegation fight”

Poole Town co-manager Pat Suraci has not played down that the Dolphins are in a relegation fight.

Poole lost 2-1 away from home against Chertsey Town last night, leaving the Dolphins winless in their last nine league games.

A Jack Mazzone brace scuppered Poole’s chances late-on, after a quick equaliser from Tom Hewlett before half-time gave the Dolphins hope of securing a vital point.

With Plymouth Parkway earning a 3-3 draw against Bracknell Town, Poole are within one point of the relegation zone, with Plymouth beginning to breathe down the Dolphins neck.

Whilst admitting the potential danger of dropping into the bottom four, Suraci also claimed that this season would be the hardest of his managerial career.

He said: “It’s mid-season so we haven’t had the summer to work with them [the players] on how we want to play and it’s a squad we haven’t recruited ourselves.

“Having said that there is enough quality in the squad.

“They’ve shown great determination and enthusiasm in the short time we’ve been here to show that they are up for the fight!”

He also added: “We won’t change too much in how we set-up but as always it’s important we adapt to the players we have and utilise their strengths.

“But, if you are 18th with 16 games to play you are not safe from relegation by any means.”

Despite all this, Suraci was quite positive about the performance against Chertsey Town.

“There were a lot of good aspects but ultimately we didn’t have enough quality in the final third and a couple of moments in the game cost us the points.

“I thought we were a lot more dominant with and without the ball than I’ve seen from the team in the previous games we’ve watched.”

Suraci and Lea have an opportunity to grab their first win in nine games against Basingstoke Town, coincidentally the fixture they last won.

The duo’s first home game kicks-off at 3PM this Saturday.