VICE-chairman Andy Rossiter joined Poole Town over four years ago and has witnessed the true highs and lows of non-league football.

Poole Town currently sit in 8th place after nine league games with 15 points and have been knocked out of both cup competitions.

After the 1-1 draw with Winchester City on Tuesday, I sat down with Andy Rossiter as we discussed the Dolphins start to the season.

Rossiter said: “Obviously we’d like to be a few points higher, the target has always been to be in the top five by Christmas.

“With the squad we have, I think it’s certainly achievable”.

Poole announced two new signings in the past few weeks, that being prolific striker Rafa Ramos and the loan signing of young defender Charlie White.

Regarding the squad, Rossiter said: "To be fair, it pushes us over the playing budget, but sometimes you’ve got to have a bit of a gamble, I think they are good additions.

“For any club that is looking to get promoted, to have three quality strikers who have quality and 20 goals each in them is so important.”

After 23 years as a director with Yeovil Town, And Rossiter joined the board of Poole Town in 2021 and has since taken over the role of vice-chairman.

Over the summer, The BlackGold Stadium has gone under a complete transition and has effectively been revamped due to major investment from Rossiter and other major investors.

Looking back to when he first joined the club, he said: “When I joined the club, we were in a very good position.

“However, if you just look around the ground, the effort that has gone in thanks to our investors and volunteers has made a huge difference.”

Poole Town recently announced the introduction of a new club website and have pushed their media output to new levels this season.

Rossiter said: “Our media is just outstanding; I think it is one of the best in the league.”

In conversation with me, he said: “I know you’ve worked very hard on the website”, and jokingly added: “I know you work eight days a week because of the conversations we have.

“There’s no disrespect to the people involved before but everything behind the scenes in every aspect has improved.

“We hope that the fans appreciate it because we do it for their benefit.

Looking towards the future, Rossiter discussed the aim for the coming seasons: “When I first came here, I said I wanted to be involved with a side that’s progressive.

“The ambition is to get to the football league, but first we have to gain promotion year after year, hopefully starting with this season.”