TOM Killick has told council chiefs to “face up to their responsibilities” and find Poole Town a suitable stadium site.

Manager Killick is preparing Dolphins for life in National South on the back of a fourth promotion in 12 seasons, progress that has been stunted in the past by their modest headquarters.

Poole were only allowed to go up from the Wessex League after their third straight championship in 2011 due to ground grading issues.

The club has managed to stay one step ahead in going up another two levels since but now faces its biggest challenge – meeting the Football Association’s B grade by March 31, 2017.

In March, vice-chairman Chris Reeves said a redevelopment of Tatnam remained the club’s best option but with property developer Eddie Mitchell on the cusp of purchasing 51 per cent of the club, Killick wants to move on.

He told the Daily Echo: “We all desperately want the club to progress and I think everyone knows the only way that can happen is for us to get a new ground.

“There is no point beating around the bush, our ground is a bit of an embarrassment to the town bearing in mind the level of football we’re at.

“It is all very well when you’re knocking around the leagues we found ourselves in a few years ago but we should have a stadium the town can be proud of.

“It is such a shame. We’re a league above Weymouth and Dorchester but their grounds are significantly better than ours and you can extend that to pretty much every club in the area, the likes of Basingstoke and Havant.

“On and off the field, the club has done so well and now, we need a facility that befits the status of the club.

“This is not just about the first team, the whole club has grown so quickly and the people of the town are increasingly becoming a part of it.

“When you’re young, you aspire to play at the highest possible level and dream of the Premier League but it is also an ambition for many to try to play at the stadium that represents your hometown.

“When I was young, the idea of playing at Poole Stadium was a big deal and something I remember strongly but we can’t offer that to youngsters.

“We’re at a level now where it has to happen. It is my understanding that we’re not asking for money – which I appreciate would be difficult for a council to justify – it is just about some support to find a suitable site.

“The council has to face up to their responsibilities in relation to that and I am hoping Eddie can push it forward.”

Asked about the prospect of developing their current home, Killick said: “In an ideal world, I think it would be away from Tatnam.

“As long as we are sharing with the school, I think there will inevitably be certain limitations. I think we need a different site.”