POOLE Town are facing the prospect of being relegated from National South unless they can find £70,000 to get their ground up to scratch.

The Dolphins, who are on the cusp of the play-off places, must find the cash before the end of March or will be demoted back to the Southern League.

Poole, crowned Southern League champions last year, were given the green light to stage step two football at Tatnam on the proviso the venue met National League ground-grading criteria by March 31.

The project, which involves installing low-level terracing and upgrading the floodlights, will cost around £150,000 – with no facility for receiving a Football Foundation grant.

Local businessman Steve Griffiths, who owns Portman Stone in Christchurch, recently bought a shareholding in the club and has pledged £40,000.

And while Poole are currently in talks with other potential investors, no deals have been concluded and the clock continues to tick towards the deadline.

Vice-chairman Chris Reeves told the Daily Echo: “The upgrade works are huge. They are going to cost in the region of £150,000 and we have £40,000 ring-fenced.

“It would be fantastic if we could get the remaining £110,000 by March 31 but we don’t need the full amount by that date. We need at least £70,000 by then though.

“We are slowly getting good terms agreed with some very supportive contractors and everything has been agreed with the school (Oakdale Junior), who are our landlords.

“We are also in talks with two or three influential people who are showing an interest in helping us.

“However, the reality is that we haven’t yet got anything signed with regards to the rest of the money.

“If all the works aren’t carried out by March 31, we will be relegated back to the Southern League and that does not bear thinking about.

“We have thrown ourselves heart and soul into this project. We pulled off a £250,000 project to stay in the Southern League three years ago but did that with the benefit of a 50 per cent grant from the Football Foundation.

“We are not eligible for any grant because we only have eight years left on our lease and there has to be a minimum of 10 before they will entertain a grant.

“We feel there is the opportunity for a local company or individual to be paraded as the saviour of Poole Town Football Club.

“We are loving every minute of being in National South and can’t get our heads around being relegated. We have had a fantastic journey and this is a fantastic club to be associated with.

“Our successes have been terrific against so many odds with the issues we have at the ground. We are throwing a lot of mud at the wall and are giving it our best shot.”

Founded in 1890, Poole have been blighted by ground problems ever since being kicked out of Poole Stadium – their home for 61 years – in 1994.

They have faced a constant battle to find a new stadium despite putting the town on the map by climbing from the Hampshire League to the National League in the space of 13 years.

Poole moved to its current base on a school playing field at Tatnam in 2005 after ground-sharing with Hamworthy United and Holt United following their departure from Wimborne Road.

Eddie Mitchell, who until recently had an option to purchase a majority shareholding in Poole, no longer has any formal involvement with the club.