CHAIRMAN Chris Reeves is adamant Poole Town have what it takes to avoid the drop from National South.

A 3-2 defeat to Welling United on Saturday left Dolphins five points from safety and with one win from their past eight league games.

However, despite the difficult situation in which Tom Killick's side find themselves, Reeves is confident safety remains achievable.

He told the Daily Echo: "I know we are good enough to survive but in every game, the divide between success and failure is wafer-thin. This season, things are going the way of the opposition a bit too often.

"Me and Tom really believe we are good enough to come through.

"Tom is a past master of inspiring the players and Jamie Whisken is an inspirational skipper. The mood in the dressing room is very strong and three points for a win means things can change very quickly.

"We are desperate to hang on to our National South status. There is so much going on at the club that is positive so the last thing we want is to be relegated.

"It's only going to be positive thinking and belief in our ability which will carry us through."

Reeves implored Poole fans to continue to provide plenty of encouragement from the sidelines, insisting it could make a significant difference.

He added: "With regard to supporters, if we get relegated, let's have the inquest at the end of the season.

"Between now and the end of the campaign, let's have ultra-positivity with the team being urged on every game.

"The supporters have a massive part to play in this. They haven't turned against us and there was a lot of support for the team on Saturday.

"Mark Goldberg, the Welling chairman, made a point of seeking me out after the game to tell me there was no way in the world that we would be relegated.

"It was lovely of him to have done that, he didn't need to, and he was very considered in the way he justified what he was saying."

Poole went behind early on when Harley Willard squeezed the ball inside the post from Jeffrey Monakana's cross.

Marvin Brooks soon levelled matters by firing under Miles and two minutes later, Warren Bentley stormed clear and coolly applied a fine finish.

Welling levelled just short of the hour when Bradley Goldberg converted a spot-kick following substitute Matt Neale's ill-advised challenge on Connor Dymond.

And the visitors completed the comeback after Goldberg fired beyond goalkeeper Nick Hutchings.

Dolphins: Hutchings, Alawode-Williams (Gyebi, 78), Moore, Spetch, Whisken, Pettefer, Baghdadi (Neale, 29), Devlin (Balmer, 71), Bentley, Brooks, Bedford. Unused subs: Leslie-Smith, Rees (g/k).