There will be many more twists and turns, says Dover Athletic boss Nicky Forster

DOVER ATHLETIC boss Nicky Forster says his side have pushed themselves back into the play-off picture with back-to-back wins.



The Whites suffered back-to-back defeats, a home defeat to play-off chasing Welling United and that was followed by a 3-0 defeat away to Ryman League Division One South side Hythe Town in the semi-finals Kent Senior Cup Sponsored by portablefloodlights.com.

But they bounced back with league wins over Salisbury City (1-0), before closing the gap on Chelmsford City, with a 2-1 home win over the Essex outfit in midweek.

Forster, who published his regular blog on the club official website www.doverathletic.com says no-one should write off his side.

He said: “Harold Wilson once said that “a week is a long time in politics”, a phrase that could be said for many things, certainly one of which is football.

“Tuesday night’s superb home win over Chelmsford was not only deserved but was vital in terms of trying to close the gap on those above us.

“Along with Saturday’s hard fought victory away at Salisbury, both games represented a fantastic reaction to two losses previously and a complete turnaround in terms of mood from that of seven days ago.

“I must make the point that, in my opinion, some of the negativity to the two losses from some areas outside the club have been undue and over exaggerated.

“There will always be a balance between expectation and reality, the point being that I’m certain that 22 teams entered into the Blue Square South competition this season believing they could successfully achieve promotion.

“Failing to reach the final of the Kent Senior Cup was disappointing but aside from hurt pride the competition itself from day one has been a side issue to the real goal of a play-off finish, something that we should not after the game a week ago or indeed now lose sight of.

“The fact remains that we are at present on an incredible run, having lost just once in the league in the last 10 games to the team placed third (Welling United).  This is a record which we should be rightly proud of and I’m sure many others would trade their own form for that of ours.”

Forster, who takes his side to seventh-placed Basingstoke Town on Saturday and second-from-bottom Hampton & Richmond Borough next Tuesday, added: “Our schedule now serves up four away games within the next fortnight, a punishing run which, as previously said, will test our resources to the full.

“Careful management of individuals is needed to ensure that those who have played a lot taper down their training and those who haven’t do enough to be ready when called upon.

“One thing is for sure, there will be many more twists and turns before the season is out.”

Skipper, Shane Huke, echoed the thoughts of Forster, in his own blog on www.doverathletic.com by saying, “A few have written off our chances this season for promotion, but for all involved at the club this is a very exciting time.

“We have now dragged Chelmsford back into the fight and with two games in hand on them and eight points behind we are in a great position.  Most of the teams in the top five have got to play each other.

“Tuesday’s win (over Chelmsford) puts us in the driving seat to continue what has been a great second half of the season. With one loss in 11 league games we have a great fighting spirit behind us and we are all confident this will continue to the last game of the season.”

Quotes courtesy of www.doverathletic.com  

Basingstoke Town  v  Dover Athletic
Blue Square Bet South
Saturday 10^th March 2012
Kick Off 3:00pm
at The Camrose, Western Way, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG22 6EZ