BEWARE THE HESS EXPRESS
Ace Brundle backs Dover to escape danger
MITCH BRUNDLE believes Dover Athletic are showing they’ve got what it takes to beat the National League drop.
The Whites missed out on a place in the play-offs last season on goal difference, but this year has been a different story.
A tough start to the new campaign saw experienced manager Chris Kinnear leave with former boss Andy Hessenthaler returning from Eastleigh to take charge.
They have lost just once in their last six games and after last week’s 2-1 win at AFC Fylde are unbeaten in four.
Although they are still in the relegation zone as the league took a break for FA Trophy action this weekend, the gloom appears to be lifting.
Captain Brundle says the mid-season switch to a full-time training schedule is bearing fruit – but warned they must keep pushing forward.
“We lost a couple of players by going full-time, which was hard considering we did so well the season before,” Brundle told
The NLP. “But it’s obviously working, we’re looking fitter and we’re back on the up again. We need the results to back that up.
“We’ve had some poor performances since the new gaffer came in – against Braintree and probably Dagenham in the first half, especially – but we’re picking up and hopefully we can keep pushing on.
“We’ve got a good team bond and we’ve tried to keep it where we’re not so down when the results haven’t gone our way because we’re not too high when they are going the right way.
Balance
“It’s hard to get that balance right because we haven’t had so many wins this season. When we do win it feels like a massive relief and when you lose it feels like the world is on your shoulders.
“But we’ve managed to get that right balance. When things haven’t been going well, we’ve still been in there digging in and believing the hard work we do on the training ground will pay off.
“It is getting better, and the results are showing that, but we have to show that for the rest of the games.” Brundle was part of the Braintree Town side that finished third in the division in 2015-16. And he thinks a repeat trick by a true part-time outfit – Tuesday and Thursday evening training – is harder than ever. “With full-time you can get on the training ground, do more shape and do analysis on the opposition,” he said. “There’s not many part-time teams now in this league, considering how many there used to be and how well the parttime teams used to do. I think the gap is becoming bigger because the teams getting relegated are big clubs and so are the clubs coming up. It’s definitely getting harder.”