THE new Dover Athletic manager could be installed much sooner than originally planned.

The official closing date for applications is May 30 and the club was aiming for an early-June appointment. But the pace of events has made the matter more pressing.

Clive Walker has been unveiled as Ashford Town's new manager, barely a week after leaving Crabble. A number of his favourites are out of contract at Dover - and the worry is the power vacuum at Crabble could prompt an exodus.

Those fears intensified when key player Craig Wilkins signed for Maidstone United - and more could follow. The Crabble club has acted to take up one-year options on strikers James Dryden and Bradley Spice.

Chairman Jim Parmenter said over 20 applicants were after the manager’s job and pronounced himself "delighted" with the quality of some of them.

Mr Parmenter said: "All the short-listed names we've got so far will have the capability of bringing in very interesting and exciting players."

* Keep up to date with all the news from Crabble every week in the Dover Mercury.