Men on board to handle poles (5)
I believe the answer is:
pawns
'men on board' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'handle poles' is the wordplay.
'handle' becomes 'paw' (paw can mean to touch or handle).
'poles' becomes 'NS' (North and South poles).
'paw'+'ns'='PAWNS'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for pawns that I've seen before include "Minor chessmen" , "Puts into hock" , "Chess pieces" , "made pledges" , "The foot-soldiers in chess" .)