Poke got his first taste of involvement with the first team for Saints when the absence of both Antti Niemi and Paul Smith left a space for him on the bench in the final two games of the 2003/4 season.
A brave and determined goal-keeper, Michael has a good attitude to the game and puts the hours in on the training ground.
He has been with the academy since he was 10 working his way through the ranks of the youth set up and the reserve team.
His physical strength give him presence on the pitch and combined with his communication skills he is a reassuring figure for defenders, commanding the play in front of him.
At the start of 2004/5 he played a couple of games as a guest for Northampton's reserve team in search of match practice but a knee injury saw him return to the south coast.
A thumb injury ruled him out of most of the second half of the 2005-06 season, costing him a place on the bench following the injury to Bartosz Bialkowski.

Sat on the bench for the first three games of 2006-07 but then found his opportunities limited either by injury or the return to fitness of Bialkowski.

He suffered a further set-back at the start of 2007-08, needing surgery on a knee problem.

Joined Torquay on loan in January 2008 but was recalled ahead of the FA Cup tie at Bristol Rovers because of a thumb injury to Bartosz Bialkowski. He made his senior debut coming off the bench at Wolves when Kelvin Davis cracked a finger and he made three first-team starts.

Poke's loan deal with Torquay was then extended until the end of the 2008-09 season where he helped the Gulls back into the Football League by virtue of a Play-Off Final win at Wembley against Cambridge. He kept a clean sheet as Paul Buckle's side ran out 2-0 victors.