Kentish Football 
We are always looking to strengthen, says Dover Athletic boss Nicky Forster
Tuesday 07th February 2012
DOVER ATHLETIC boss Nicky Forster says he is utilising every free available moment to get his players in for training.The Whites were without a game last weekend as scheduled opponents Hampton & Richmond Borough were involved in a FA Carlsberg Trophy tie – although that game, like many others, was frozen off.
They are presently sitting in eighth place in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South league table with 41 points from 26 games and Forster’s side are currently eight games unbeaten.
Speaking in his blog, published on the club’s website www.doverathletic.com, Forster said: “After missing out on a game two weeks ago the last thing we wanted was to have another free weekend without competitive football.
“However, there was little anyone could do to prevent all football at our level from falling foul of the frozen pitches and snowfall this weekend.
“How to plan around these enforced stoppages is always open to debate but you can be sure that the players are all praying for the shout of 'weekend off boys' from the management and the groans rang out when we said 'see you Saturday morning for training'.
“I have said before that a major difference between the pro game and management at this level is the amount of time we get with the players on the training ground. It is therefore vital to utilise weekends like this.
“Another area which is extremely difficult to address is watching opposition and players for both preparation and recruitment purposes, it is frustrating to lose an opportunity to cover such.
“Since my appointment here I have probably had on average half a dozen calls a week from players or agents offering their services. The one thing that has become apparent from the few trials we have permitted is that many people underestimate the quality of the football played at this level.
“Player recruitment is obviously one of the biggest factors of management success but with smaller budgets and tighter squads it is possibly more vital than in League football.
“Rarely does a signing for a club get widespread approval and a sign of a good manager is one who can see a players true potential and harvest that. As they say, one mans junk is another's treasure!
“We are always looking to strengthen but must adopt the stance that it should only be done if the addition is going to improve us.”
Dover Athletic are scheduled to play away to Farnborough on Saturday (3pm).
Quotes courtesy of www.doverathletic.com
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd