BOSS Tom Killick reckons cool heads will have a greater influence on Poole Town’s Southern League title destiny rather than any fire in the belly.

Dolphins know victory in tomorrow’s home clash with Dunstable (3pm) will be enough to seal the Premier Division crown and promotion to National South with two matches to spare.

Results elsewhere could see Poole lift the championship irrespective of the outcome but after last season’s final-day heartbreak against Corby, Killick is keen to protect his players from any hype.

And with so much at stake, motivational tactics are unlikely to form part of the long-serving manager’s pre-match repertoire.

Killick told the Daily Echo: “If you go to Hungerford on a wet Monday night, the way you speak to the players is very different to how you deal with a match that has a lot riding on it.

“Sometimes, you feel the need to ensure the players are fully focused and motivated. At other moments, there needs to be a certain level of calmness.

“Often, the team that plays with intelligence and makes good decisions tends to cope better with pressurised situations. Players can be as fired up but then go out and run around like headless chickens and that is not what you want.

“But we have been involved in quite a few of these games over the past few years and I think the players have got good experience from that, they know how they have to react. Hopefully, that can help us.

“We know we have to win one more game and that’s how we’re approaching it. We are desperate to get it done at the first attempt but it won’t be easy.

“Everyone can see from how the season has panned out that three points are hard to acquire against anyone in this division, we just have to keep our focus and not get carried away.

“If we don’t give this game our full attention, we won’t get a result. We have to try to ignore all the stuff that surrounds it and concentrate on putting in another good performance.

“Everyone is looking forward to it. We are hoping for a good crowd with Bournemouth playing on Sunday and a good atmosphere will give us the best possible chance.”

Poole will be without the services of injured ex-Tranmere winger Abdulai Baggie and suspended defender Michael Walker, who serves the second of a two-match ban for accumulating 10 bookings.

Striker Richard Gillespie, limited to nine starts and six substitute appearances due to injury this season, could feature despite missing Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Stratford Town.

“Gilly played a part last Saturday,” added Killick. “He sat out on Tuesday as a precaution because he had been off for so long. We felt the need to be cautious but he is fit and available. To have someone with his experience for such a key fixture could be vital.”

Dolphins: (from) Hutchings, Tallack, Spetch, Lindsay, Whisken, Pettefer, Burbidge, Gleeson, Devlin, Lee, Dickson, Brooks, Roberts, Holgate, Gillespie, Rees.