POOLE Town are itching to get back onto the pitch following a three-week break according to boss Tom Killick.

After defeat at the hands of rivals Salisbury in the FA Cup on Saturday, September 3, Dolphins have been left kicking their heels following the postponement of football following the Queen’s death, with last weekend also left blank due to other teams’ cup commitments.

They return to action this afternoon when they host Yate Town at the BlackGold Stadium (kick-off 3pm), with Poole looking for a first home win of the campaign.

With plenty of time on their hands to reflect on their iffy start to the season, boss Killick revealed extra training sessions had been tempered with team bonding activities, such as paintballing.

He told the Daily Echo: “I think ideally we would have rather been playing, but we’ve tried to use it constructively by doing a lot of physical work with the players, and getting them together a lot.

“We trained last Saturday and paintballed afterwards. We’ve tried to have a lot of contact time with the players, and try and use it to our advantage, if you like.

“It’s enabled us to work on a few things.”

Dolphins have tasted defeat in all four of the home matches so far this season, with their seven points to date coming from away fixtures.

When asked if there was added pressure playing at home, Killick responded: “I haven’t really thought about it.

“I just feel there is a pressure on us to perform well, because results have been indifferent.

“So I’m not so sure there’s anything particularly added by being at home.

“We just feel a real desire to win a game. Obviously if we can get a good result, the bonus will be it is witnessed by many more of our supporters.”

Morale is important, in terms of supporters and players. I suppose home wins are always going to create more of a feel good factor. I think the players are very motivated by the break, and trying to get things on a better track.

In a bid to prepare for the fixture, Killick has spoken to other managers for their insight into the Bluebells.

He added: “I’ve spoken to two different managers about them, and both of them spoke very highly of them and actually said they think come the end of the season, they’ll probably be looking to repeat what they did last year, finishing in and around the top six.”