BOSS Tom Killick admits the absence of injured star men Taffy Richardson, Aaron Skelton, Luke Whitley and Trefor Smith is putting a major strain on his Poole Town squad.

Skelton, Whitley and Smith all looked on from the sidelines as the Dolphins made heavy weather of beating Wessex League strugglers Lymington Town on Saturday.

And although Richardson came off the bench as a late substitute, the influential midfielder has been troubled by a pelvic injury and may soon require surgery.

But with the Dolphins in the hunt for silverware on three different fronts, Richardson is likely to continue to play through the pain barrier and will probably delay going under the knife.

Poole commence a potentially-defining 19-day period in their season when they host Romsey Town in the third round of the Wessex League Cup tonight (7.45pm).

And with a crucial FA Vase fourth round clash against Consett sandwiched between league clashes against title rivals AFC Totton and Wimborne, Killick knows he needs his big guns at the ready.

He said: "As a manager, you always want everybody available and Taffy, Aaron, Luke and Trefor are four players you don't want sidelined. Our squad is probably too stretched at the moment.

"We need to get back to the form we were showing earlier on in the season because it's going to be an interesting few weeks for us."

Although Richardson could start against Romsey, the tie is likely to come too soon for Skelton, Smith and Whitley.

Teenage goalkeeper Adam Tong returns to the Dolphins squad and will deputise for cup-tied Jason Harvell, while Ryan Lucas is also added.

Poole Town: (from) Tong, Sturgess, S Smith, Yelland, I Richardson, C Smith, Culliford, Funnell, Osborne, Brown, Cann, Reeves, Wilson, Ayres, S Richardson, Lucas.