CALLUM Brooks insisted Poole Town would stick to their coaching principles in a bid to get through a “difficult period”.

The Dolphins assistant boss also claimed “no one is panicking” following their tough start to the National South campaign.

Brooks, who joined the set-up at Black Gold Stadium in 2015, took charge in the absence of boss Tom Killick during the 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Slough Town on Saturday.

Poole’s third qualifying round exit mirrored their poor start to the league campaign, in which they have just nine points from 12 fixtures, placing them 20th in the table.

But Brooks believes that if the players continue to show desire, they will turn round their results.

He told the Daily Echo: “Since I have been at the club we have had a lot of success and it has been like that throughout Tommy’s reign.

“But there is no guarantee that any club can keep winning. We are going through a difficult period. You can tell it in the games we have played recently and the game we played on Saturday.

“It is through no lack of desire and the group will be okay. It’s just important that, from our management team to the players, we stick together and keep going.”

Asked how difficult the poor run of form had been, Brooks said: “It tests you as a coach. It tests you mentally and it tests you as a player. You begin to ask questions about everything you have ever done.

“Football is relatively easy when you are winning at times. But as a coach and as a group of players, we try to do the same work.

“You could win a game 2-0 and there could be loads wrong. You can play brilliantly one day and get beaten 1-0.

“It’s a case of having a solid base of work, which we believe in, to improve various aspects all the time.

“You cannot always be reactive to results. We have won games where we have not always been at our best. For a coach, your job is to take yourself out of that situation.

“It’s your job to pick the bones out of games a little bit more than just going with results.

“No one is panicking. We just need a calm, moving-forward work ethic, where you are trying to do the right thing.

"If we do that, we always have a chance because there is a good set of players here. They don’t turn into bad players overnight.”

Dolphins travel to Oxford City in the league on Saturday (3pm) – a side they are level on points with.

“It’s an opportunity to pick up some points, which would make us all feel a little bit better,” added Brooks.