Dover Athletic boss Chris Kinnear is still learning about his squad

DOVER ATHLETIC boss Chris Kinnear is tying players down to contracts ahead of the club’s Conference Premier return.

Dover Athletic put in a courageous performance against full time League One side Colchester United on Friday night in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Crabble.

Craig Stone scored early on before Colchester hit back with two goals before half time. Nathan Elder struck late on as both teams shared the spoils.

Kinnear was happy with the result, but still clearly fully aware that term friendly match means nothing in terms of points.

He told www.doverathletic.com: “It was a good exercise and was played in the right spirit with no unpleasantness between the two sides. It was tough, but we want tough tests at home like this and the one coming up on Tuesday night against Gillingham.

“It is not just about pre-season, you have to learn things, whether you win or lose. If we had every pre-season game I would be saying the same, we would still be learning.”

Kinnear added: “I learnt how fit we are, but we are still a little way from sharpness. We have a fair old squad now and there are a few new ones that we are learning about.”

One player that Kinnear feels he has learnt enough about is Jake Reid, 27, with the former Bath City striker man penning a contract prior to the game after a fine pre-season so far.

Kinnear said: “He has done well and scored goals and I really think he can help the squad. We are still looking to sign players if they can improve the squad.”

Reid's strike partner on the night, Stefan Payne, who signed from Hornchurch and was well known to the manager from his times at Ebbsfleet United, Sutton United and Fulham, has also impressed fans with his determination, effort and clever forward runs.

His manager, however, believes he may be working too hard at the moment.

He said: “He is still getting a bit tired when he is playing, but it is because he is working so hard and is doing a lot more than the training we provide. He just needs to work a bit smarter and he has been talking to John the fitness guy to work on some things.”

Another player worth mentioning is former Havant & Waterlooville winger Chris Nanetti, who followed up his goal on Tuesday night with another blistering cameo performance, delivering at least three quality balls into the penalty area within minutes of coming off the bench.

Kinnear said: “He is a blinking good player. He is not quite fit yet, but you can see in one game he scored one goal and in the next he put in some great crosses. The crowd will love him as he is different to anyone else we have here.”

One player that has moved on though is the Lloyd Harrington, much to the disappointment of the fans who are clearly saddened to see the versatile youngster leave.

Kinnear explained the reasons behind the defender’s departure.

“He had gone down to Ebbsfleet without telling me as they said they would take him on and loan him out. We told him he needs games, but financially loaning him out is not something that we can afford to do. If he had said that he wanted to stick at it a bit longer, then I would have been happy to, but he wanted a decision right now.

“Unfortunately anyone would take time to recover from an injury like that, even someone like Messi. That is the way football is and I hope there are no hard feelings.”

Immediately after the game, defender Sean Francis signed a deal with the club to bolster the club’s defensive options.

Francis became the seventh summer signing for Dover Athletic, following on from the earlier announcement that Reid has agreed terms with Whites.

Francis, a tall central defender, joins the club having spent three seasons with Conference South side Bishop's Stortford, having previously spent time with Braintree Town, Aveley and Billericay Town.

Francis has taken part in five of the club's seven pre-season fixtures thus far and competes with Tyrone Sterling, Richard Orlu and Sean Raggett for a position in the heart of Whites' defence.

Reid, meanwhile, joins Payne, Jeff Goulding and Elder as the side's out-and-out attackers.

The frontman counts Telford, Newport County and Salisbury amongst his former clubs and has put in a string of impressive performances in this pre-season campaign, finding the net on four occasions - a brace against Faversham Town adding to strikes against Kent rivals Margate and Tonbridge Angels.

Dover Athletic welcome League One Gillingham to Crabble on Tuesday night (7:30pm).

Visit Dover Athletic’s website: www.doverathletic.com