DORCHESTER boss Mark Jermyn has admitted that he thought his long-standing relationship with the county town club may have been over for good after leaving last May.

And if things hadn’t turned out as they did for Jermyn then he would no doubt be getting ready to face the Magpies at the Avenue today.

Poole, the club Jermyn joined following his split from Dorchester nearly a year ago, have a return to the top of the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division in their sights this afternoon (3pm).

Graham Kemp’s resignation in January paved the way for Jermyn’s return to the Magpies as player-manager and, although an agreement between the clubs means he can’t play in today’s match, the Dorchester supremo is not going to be doing the visitors any favours in their pursuit of the title.

“There is no getting away from it, we are going out to win the game,” he told Echosport. "We are not looking to make a statement, we just want to be as competitive as we can and win it.

“Our season is not over until the last game and we want the three points, it doesn’t matter if it’s Poole or anyone else."

Reflecting on his time at Tatnam and the move back to his spiritual home, he added: “I really enjoyed my time at Poole and everybody there was good to me.

“The players want to play for each other and Tom, and that’s why they are where they are.

“When I left Dorchester in the summer I genuinely thought that was it for me at the club. I didn’t see myself returning for quite a long time, if ever, but when I was offered the job it was something I had to take. And I’m grateful to Tom because he could have dug his heels in and not let me go as I was on a contract.

“And if Dorchester had not come in for me I would have stayed at Poole because there was no way I was going to join anybody other than Dorchester.”

Magpies (from): Walker-Harris, Lanahan, Tarbuck, Hanger, Smeeton, Dillon, Gleeson, Morgan, Nicholls, Brookes, Smith, Watson, Walker, Irvine, Horsburgh, Godfrey