IRATE Poole Town manager Tom Killick slammed as “unpleasant and disrespectful” a handful of keyboard warriors on the club’s unofficial fans’ forum.

Killick was unhappy with posts aimed at new recruits Franklyn Clarke and Sam Griffin, both signed in the summer from Wessex Premier champions Blackfield & Langley.

The pair were singled out following Dolphins’ opening-day defeat by Hartley Wintney in Southern League South when Clarke bagged their consolation in a 3-1 reverse.

Somewhat fittingly, both midfielder Clarke and winger Griffin netted first-half goals as Poole responded by registering a 2-1 win at Salisbury in midweek.

Killick told the Daily Echo: “I know you shouldn’t read the comments on these forums but a couple about the lads we got from Blackfield wrote them off after one game.

“I found it unpleasant and disrespectful for some of our supporters to single out a couple of new players who are trying to make their way with the club.

“I know the mentality of some supporters shouldn’t surprise me after all these years but I’m afraid it did.

“Both Franklyn and Sam showed their quality against Salisbury and scored the goals which won us the game so I was very pleased for them.

“These forums are the way of the world now and people are entitled to their opinions. You are never going to stop it and I don’t think you can control it either. I wouldn’t want that because people are entitled to air their views.

“But I don’t think it is right when it is personal and aimed at players who are doing their best for the club and have only just arrived.

“If you walk into a pub of 200 people, you are going to get a couple of idiots in there and that’s the same with these forums.

“I can’t imagine a Premier League manager like Eddie Howe reading the Bournemouth forum but, as you go down the levels, players and people take more notice of these comments.

“These lads are semi-pro, they work during the day and don’t need to be coming home and reading stuff like that.”

Defeat at the hands of promoted Hartley Wintney set the alarm bells ringing in some quarters at Black Gold Stadium and prompted some supporters to write off their chances of an instant return to National South.

However, victory at Salisbury provided the ideal tonic with Poole facing another tricky away assignment at one of Killick’s former clubs, Basingstoke, on Saturday.

Killick added: “I wasn’t so worried about people writing us off after one game. It’s the way football is at every level because there is so much scrutiny.

“But I was so pleased we won because we have taken a lot of knocks. If we had lost ahead of what promises to be another tough game at Basingstoke, it would have put us in a very difficult position so winning just puts a better perspective on it all.”

Jack Dickson is again an injury doubt, while Marvin Brooks may face a late fitness test on a bruised heel. Michael Walker is sidelined with a knee problem.

Dolphins: (from) Cairney, Alawode-Williams, Leslie-Smith, Spetch, Whisken, Moore, Griffin, Devlin, Clarke, Brooks, Grange, Balmer, Pettefer, Smeeton, Lowes, Hutchings.