BOSS Tom Killick has defended Poole Town’s decision to grant defender Neil Martin a free transfer to title rivals Weymouth.

Left-back Martin had his Tatnam contract cancelled ahead of Tuesday’s switch having lost his first-team place to former Cherries youngster Lewis Lindsay.

Terras player-manager Jason Matthews claimed Martin had “wanted to come to Weymouth for six months” and that the player had “finally got his wish”.

Killick confirmed no fee had changed hands but insisted that Poole’s stance had been in the club’s best interests, despite the prospect of Southern League Premier Division strugglers Dorchester Town entering the race to sign Martin.

“Under contract or not, if player is not happy then retaining him against his will is not conducive to a harmonious atmosphere,” said Killick.

“It can be quite dangerous to stop someone going to a certain club. If I am not picking a player and they want to leave them I am not going to start dictating where they end up.

“If I don’t think enough of him to put him in there regularly then it is hardly fair to stand in his way.

“I must admit, I would rather he had not gone to Weymouth but he wanted to get away and they offered him a good opportunity with a contract until the end of next season.

"Sometimes you have to respect the needs of the player involved.”