PORTLAND United boss Callum Brooks is relishing the chance to pit his wits against former colleague Tommy Killick when Poole Town visit the Blues’ Weyline Stadium tonight (7.45pm).

Brooks enjoyed a spell as first-team coach under Killick at the Dolphins and the two remain good friends.

Brooks told Echosport: “They’re a good group at Poole and I took so much from working for (Killick) for three years.

“It’s nice when you can go up against each other in a less pressured environment.

“But, we’re both competitors and people pay to watch. It’s nice to have that bit of history and we’ll meet up after the game and dissect it.

“I’m looking to bed those layers of resilience and extra fitness in. There will be times in games where we need to dig in, see leads out, or hold on for points.

“No doubt, he’ll be looking for his players to find that rhythm with the ball.

“They’re always tricky games, I see Christchurch beat Wimborne and Downton beat us. It’s a strange time of year.

“If you get mentality and work-rate right, then the quality (shines).”