POOLE Town’s returning hero Marvin Brooks has lifted the lid on his surprise exit from Salisbury, claiming he was not boss Steve Claridge’s “cup of tea”, writes Jack Tanner.

Brooks dropped two levels to join the Whites in the summer but this week headed back to the Black Gold Stadium after just five months with the Southern League West outfit.

The frontman, who started Poole’s 1-1 draw with Concord Rangers on Tuesday, said he was keen to put behind him his brief stay in Wiltshire and focus his attention on helping Dolphins climb National South.

Brooks’s stop-start spell with Salisbury began with injury, while he struggled to adapt to Claridge’s rotation policy, despite enjoying a fruitful scoring run.

Sent off during a 2-0 defeat by Swindon Supermarine in September, Brooks subsequently found himself dropped by Claridge.

Brooks told the Daily Echo: “It didn’t start too well. But I did manage to go on a bit of a run and scored seven goals in five games.

“He decided to rotate the squad, but I wasn’t used to not playing when I was ready to play. With the sending off and suspension, I just couldn’t get back in the team.

“But that’s just managers – I completely understand that. I don’t understand the reasons but I accept that I wasn’t his (Claridge) cup of tea but everything was dealt with in a fair way.”

Ex-Royal Navy serviceman Brooks, whose first spell at Poole started in 2011, was welcomed back by boss Tom Killick who had no hesitation in starting him against Concord.

Will Spetch fired home a leveller on the hour mark in the National South clash after Ben Greenhalgh had opened the scoring for the visitors five minutes previously.

Brooks added: “I felt comfortable and Tom helped with that. He understands me as a player and my role, so I slotted back in quite nicely. I knew my position, how we were going to play and I know most of the lads so it was quite an easy transition.

“It was a little strange because there are a few characters missing, like Michael Walker and Luke Burbidge.

“But I know the character of most of the lads and know there is enough about them that we won’t get relegated. Performances like this, coming back from 1-0 down, show that.”

Discussing his return, Brooks said: “I never considered anywhere else because Tom was so hot on my heels for me to come back!

“He kept up to date with my situation at Salisbury and what was going on. It showed me that there was no animosity regarding the move.

“I knew that I could get regular football at a good level, with a manager that understands how I play and I understand him, so there was no other option.”

Dolphins: Hutchings, Lindsay, Moore, Spetch, Whisken, Pettefer, Bedford (Neale, 61), Devlin, Bentley, Brooks, Dickson. Unused subs: Gillespie, Balmer, Harfield, Rees (g/k).