DORCHESTER Town manager Tom Killick will this evening be reunited with Tony Lee, a player he rates as “the best striker in the league”.

Killick’s new club tackle AFC Totton at Snows Stadium tonight (7.45pm), with Lee having recently moved to the Stags from Poole Town.

Lee’s exit is one of the more surprising departures from the Dolphins amid a player exodus, sparked by Killick’s sacking in September after 19 years on the Poole throne.

Addressing Lee’s move, Killick shared his amazement at the development.

He told Echosport: “Obviously on the basis that he remained at Poole we wouldn’t have had to play against him at all from now until the end of the season.

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“Now, he goes to a team that we haven’t played at all, so we’ve got to face him twice.

“He’s a great striker and I’m absolutely amazed that Poole have let him go. I feel he’s one of, if not the best, striker in the league.

“They’ve got themselves a brilliant player, so we’ll be hugely aware of the threat that he poses.

“Talking about it and doing it are sometimes different things. I know him very well, I’ve got a lot of affection for him.

“I spoke to him quite a few times in the build-up to him leaving Poole. It’s ended badly for him there.

“He felt he was in a position where he was so unhappy he had to leave. I’m amazed, but it hasn’t helped us too much.”

Big-spending Totton have enjoyed a superb season in their first term after promotion from Step 4, residing in fifth place in the Pitching In Southern League Premier South at the time of writing.

That compares favourably to Dorchester’s position of 17th, although the Magpies have only been beaten once in eight league outings.

Assessing Totton, Killick added: “They’re a very good side, they’re clearly very ambitious and you can tell they’re trying to progress in terms of the squad they’re compiling.

“They’re not settling for anything, they’re just going to keep moving forward, or that’s their intention, they’re going to keep acquiring players.

“They’re going to try and get more and more powerful. They’re only going to get better and better.

“They’ve got the resources that pretty much anyone in the league is jealous of. They seem like a well-run club and have got a good manager and good players.

“It’s just a big challenge. We can’t afford to be giving points to anyone or give up any opportunity to get points. We just have to have a real belief in what we’ve got at the moment and try and bring back some points.

“Only drawing (on Saturday) just makes it that little bit more essential to pick something up in midweek.

“We’ve got games in hand on some sides and some sides aren’t playing in midweek. You’ve got to try and get some points in the bag to give the league table a more healthy look.”

Dorchester are set to be at near full strength for the fixture, with Luke Roberts (hamstring) close to a return.