MANAGER Tom Killick has called for a show of unity at Poole Town in the face of “unreasonable and unfair” outside pressure over recent results.

Table-topping Dolphins were held to a fourth straight Southern League Premier Division draw at Merthyr on Saturday with Will Spetch rescuing a 1-1 result four minutes from time.

The engaging contest, which had seemed destined to be settled by Keyon Reffell’s 16th-minute header for Merthyr, flew from end to end at a frenetic pace with chances aplenty at both ends.

A share of the spoils saw Poole’s lead at the summit cut to just two points and while Killick admitted his side had not hit previous heights in recent weeks, appealed for a sense of perspective.

Killick told the Daily Echo: “Externally, there appears to be a perception that we can win this league 10 or 15 points but I have never thought that. If we won it on goal difference or got promoted via the play-offs, I would be happy.

“There’s a little bit of hysteria about what we should be doing and I think the players just have to stick together and keep trying to grind out results. I think it’s unreasonable and unfair to put them under any added pressure.

“Why should we be under any more pressure than Chippenham or Redditch? We’re all fighting for the same thing, we just seem to be treated slightly differently because of what happened last season and I think that’s a little but unfair.

“We are top of the league and that is an exceptional effort on our part, whether that’s by a point, on goal difference, on the back of five wins or some indifferent results. People need to be sensible.

“We are not quite playing as well as we would like but that happens. We are working hard and our mentality is right so I have total faith and belief that the players will always do their best.

“I have not always been able to say that as a manager so I will keep believing in them and encouraging them going forward and think that is what the club should do as a whole.”

On the match, Killick added: “If you were to be neutral, I think a draw was a fair result. We were disappointed not to score before we did but they were bright up front and had opportunities.

“It was almost like they were the away side. I felt we spent quite a lot of time in and around their penalty area but they always looked lively on the break with a lot of pace in attack.

“Merthyr are a strong side. If you look at this game in isolation, I feel it is a good result, it is only the results before that will make people disappointed with it.

“From our point of view, we can only play the game in front of us and this was a credible performance and a credible result.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Tallack (Lindsay, 57), Spetch, Walker, Whisken, Pettefer, Burbidge, Devlin, Wort (Gillespie, 63), Brooks, Roberts (Connell, 81). Unused sub: Rees (g/k).