Dominic Poleon hasn’t found it difficult to settle into the club, having played with some of his teammates before. Alfie Egan, Bobby-Joe Taylor and Josh Payne are among his former colleagues at other clubs but his off-field relationship with fellow Newham boy Rakish Bingham is one Poleon is hoping to cultivate.
“I’m a striker, I’m there to score goals as a forward player,” Poleon told BBC Radio Kent’s Charles Webster. “You’re brought in to score goals and help the team so that’s what I aim to do. I’ve known Raks for many years now, that does help. Different to the other players I’ve played with, Rakish I’ve known off the field so it’s good we’ve got that connection. It’s good we’ve had that connection previously but now to bring it to training every day and to games, it can only get better.
“I know a few of the lads from playing with them before and we’ve got a good group here. I’m excited for the games coming up and to build on performances like this to take us higher up the table. I’ve been with the boys a few weeks now, so they kind of know my style of play. It’s easy when you play around good players for yourself to flourish. I look forward to the games ahead and hitting the ground running.”
Poleon came on as a second-half substitute for Lee Martin and almost got in on the scoring when his pace earned him a chance late on. It was just the start for an experienced player who is already on board with manager Dennis Kutrieb’s style of play.
“No managers are really the same, everyone’s different,” he said. “He’s got a clear vision of how he wants to play, what he demands and expects and everyone’s buying into that. I’m certainly buying into it and coming into the club, from what the manager told me previously before meeting the boys, we’re all reading off the same page.
“The players that are here are all comfortable on the ball and I think if you’re not really that type of player, I don’t think you can play for this club or for this manager so that fits me down to a tee. It fits the group of players we have and fits the style of play the manager wants to play.”
And like his manager, Poleon paid tribute to the huge voluntary effort that got the game played and went a huge way towards the players securing the three points.
“These times, it doesn’t get much weirder than this and then the weather. We’re fully aware of the volunteers that came in and fully grateful that they helped to get this game on. So we can just appreciate that and it’s good that we got the win to give our thanks to them. We dominated the game and it was important we got the win.”
Whether Poleon can escape the traditional squad initiation song on the basis he sang a post-match happy birthday to Lee Martin and Michael West last night is doubtful but the ex-Leeds striker said it was all part of a fun factor alongside the work ethic at the Fleet.
“You want to create a feelgood factor and what a bummer it would be if we lost and it’s two of the lads’ birthdays!” he said. “That’s not going to make anyone’s birthday good. So it’s about having that feelgood factor around the club, the players and around the staff, building on what we have and taking us further up the table.”
