POOLE Town boss Tom Killick is hopeful perseverance will pay off after finally securing the services of striker Warren Bentley from rivals Hungerford.

The former Alresford, Winchester and Gosport hotshot netted on his debut for Poole in their 2-2 draw at Whitehawk on Saturday.

Killick, a long-time admirer of the frontman, will be keen to see him repeat the feat when Dolphins host Hemel Hempstead Town tonight (7.45pm).

He told the Daily Echo: “I think this is the third or fourth time I have tried to sign him.

“I tried to sign him when he was in the Wessex League and then he went to Winchester.

“Then, I tried to sign him from Winchester and he went to Gosport. I tried to sign him at Gosport and he went to Hungerford.

“He wasn’t getting much game time for Hungerford, which is why we ended up making the enquiry.

“There has been a bit of perseverance on our part but we are very pleased to have him now.

“He has been prolific. He is a very intelligent player and takes up good positions.

“I think the confidence of scoring and getting 80 minutes of match time under his belt will push him on further.”

Killick was also keen to praise new recruit Ollie Harfield, who made his Dolphins debut having agreed a loan deal from Cherries until January.

“Ollie looked very good on Saturday,” Killick added.

“He was playing in a slightly unfamiliar position at left midfield, when normally he is a left-back, but I thought he looked very accomplished.

“You would always hope that Ollie was going to end up having a good career as a professional.

“We just want to try to help him in terms of his career but, in the same way, while he is with us, we think he can do us a lot of good.

“AFC Bournemouth, once again, have gone above and beyond in helping us and letting us have him.”

With his side still looking for their first home win of the campaign, the Poole manager admitted Dolphins could be in for a difficult test against Hemel, who currently sit 11th.

Killick said: “I think Hemel are one of the teams who have invested quite strongly in their playing squad over the summer.

“They are one of the sides who are fancied to contend at the top end.

“Their results probably haven’t been as good as they would have hoped but they are going to be very powerful opponents again.

“We have to try to build on the first half against Whitehawk and try and turn around our home form.”

Dolphins: (from) Hutchings, Cooper, Smeeton, Spetch, Whisken, Pettefer, Dickson, Baggie, Devlin, Bentley, Balmer, Bedford, Lee, Harfield, Rees, Lindsay.