WINCHESTER City expect to find out in the next 48 hours if their top gun Craig Feeney will be staying with the club.

After fending off interest from Southern Premier outfit Weymouth, City are now on tenterhooks wondering if Feeney will be tempted by a move to National League South high-fliers Poole Town.

Tom Killick’s Dolphins have already spoken to Feeney once after Winchester waived their seven-day notice of approach.

The deadly No9 is due to speak to them again, having struck twice on Saturday as Winchester kept their slender Southern One South & West play-off hopes alive with a 3-0 home victory over rock-bottom Wantage Town.

“Poole will have another chat with him but, fingers crossed, he will stay,” said City boss Ian Saunders.

“As a football club we want to keep him and, as manager, I want to keep him.

"I don't necessarily think the timing’s right (for him to go), but I’m sure Feeney will make an educated decision on what he wants to do.

“I’ve asked Tom (Killick) to make it happen as soon as possible, one way or another, so that we know if we’ve still got our leading scorer or not.

“Our play-off hopes have been slim for some time and I wouldn’t say our chances depend on any one individual.

“But, after players coming and going at the start of the season, the fact we’re in with any sort of chance is testament to the group we’ve got here now and we’re starting to look like a team, which is nice.”

Feeney’s goals – all 31 of them – have been key to City’s rise into the top eight and, like most prolific strikers, he doesn’t always need to be performing at his peak to score.

He barely threatened in a goalless first-half against Wantage and, some might say, was a little fortunate to escape punishment when he threw out an arm to fend off big defender Joe Wood with the visiting bench convinced he had used an elbow.

“On another day, that could have turned out differently,” admitted Saunders.

“But Craig’s then come out second half and scored a worldy which settled us down. We were a different kettle of fish after that.

The “worldy” in question was an audacious overhead kick from Stuart Green's near-post cross.

“If anyone else had tried that it would probably have gone into the trees or out of the ground, but when you’re in good form like Craig is, you get your luck,” said Saunders.

“I felt we were better than Wantage all game but it needed a real good opening goal to give us the cutting edge.”

Ten minutes later Green deftly tucked away Joe Briggs’ cross for 2-0 and the midfielder then turned provider with a quickly-taken 73rd-minute free-kick, allowing Feeney to roll home his second of the game.

Briggs so nearly made it four but his delicately weighted shot came down off the angle of bar and post and somehow failed to cross the line.

Winchester City: Brendan Norris, Adam Tomasso (Robbie Matthews, 59), Danny King, Jamie Barron, Olly Searle (Matt Evans, 65), Jamie Ford, Joe Briggs, Danny Smith, Craig Feeney, Stuart Green, Adam Roberts (Jason Silver, 75). Subs (not used): IK Hill, Jack Hannam.

Referee: James Durkin.

Attendance: 140.