BOSS Tom Killick watched Poole Town register their biggest win in National South before insisting a play-off place in their debut season was a “realistic” target.

Doubles from Marvin Brooks and Steve Devlin, coupled with goals from Luke Burbidge, Richard Gillespie and Luke Roberts, saw the Dolphins crush Gosport 7-0 at Tatnam yesterday.

The victory, their second of the festive period over Borough, hoisted Poole into fifth place – with the teams finishing second to fifth contesting the end-of-season play-offs for a place in the National League.

Killick, who guided the club to promotion after lifting the Southern League title last season, told the Daily Echo: “I think finishing in the play-offs is a realistic aim.

“We don’t want to just waste the season trying to finish 15th or whatever. We want to try to push on, be competitive and have something to play for as the weeks go by.

“From what I have seen of the league, I feel we deserve to be where we are. If we keep working hard and carry on improving, learning and getting used to things, I feel we could stay there. I certainly feel that is something we have to aim for.”

Gosport, beaten 2-0 by Poole on Boxing Day, have been beset by financial issues in recent weeks which have resulted in several players leaving the club. Managed by former Wimborne boss Alex Pike, Borough only named one substitute at Tatnam.

Killick added: “In a strange way, sometimes these can be quite difficult games to be involved in for a player.

“There is an expectation that winning should be a formality because you are facing a team which doesn’t have an awful lot of ambition to win the game.

“You have to make everything happen and you have to force the issue. You aren’t going to get much credit if you win but you will receive an awful lot of criticism if you don’t. It is not easy mentally or physically to deal with these games but I felt we did it well.

“At Gosport, we played well without being ruthless enough. I am not saying we could have scored the goals we scored today but I certainly felt it could have been more comprehensive.

“It was nice to get the goals I felt our superiority deserved. We were clinical particularly at the end when we needed to be.

“We exploited the fact that they were tiring and having some difficulty and, in the past, we haven’t always done that.”

Brooks netted a stunning opener with a composed first-time finish following a superb move involving Shaun Cooper and Devlin five minutes before half-time.

The floodgates opened when Poole scored three times in 10 second-half minutes through Burbidge, Gillespie and Roberts before Devlin added a fifth.

Another finely-taken goal from Brooks, a volley from an Abdulai Baggie cross, was followed by Devlin completing the rout in injury-time.

Killick admitted he had an element of sympathy for Pike and said: “I understand he is involved as a director as well as the manager. In terms of him being a fellow football manager, I take no pleasure in seeing him in this predicament that’s for sure.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Cooper (Tallack, 66), Smeeton, Spetch, Whisken, Pettefer (Moore, 66), Burbidge, Devlin, Gillespie (Baggie, 63), Brooks, Roberts. Unused subs: Case, Rees (g/k).