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Striker Alfie Pavey won’t mind not ending the season as Dover’s top scorer - as long as the side are winning games.
Pavey last campaign was the top scorer for Andy Hessenthaler’s relegated Whites and he opened his account this term at the second attempt on Saturday in a 1-0 win over Hungerford at Crabble.
But Pavey, who says his game is about more than just scoring goals, wants everyone to contribute in front of goal.
“We need everyone chipping in," he said. "That includes the centre-halves, everyone that can chip in needs to.
“My game isn’t just about scoring, it’s also about ‘How can I bring others into the game?’
“Like last week [in a 1-1 draw at Worthing], I didn’t think my hold-up play was very good. Whereas this week, I thought it was better and it brought others into the game.
“That’s another side to my game that I’m improving. I’m still young, 26-years-old, but if I can finish top of the charts, happy days.
“If I don’t, so what? As long as my team-mates are and we are winning games of football, it doesn’t really matter.”
Pavey headed home a fine cross by impressive winger Luke Wanadio against Hungerford for what proved the only goal.
“As a striker, it’s nice to get off the mark early because then I can build on that,” he said.
“I probably won’t score in every game - that’s just the way football goes. Last week, I didn’t score because of the way we set up and there was a time where we needed to go for a point.
“I’ll take my chances if they come. I had one early on in the first half - how he’s got a block in on the ball, I don’t know!
“But it’s a great three points for us and something to build on.”
And Pavey believes, if he gets the right service from the likes of Wanadio, skipper Lee Martin and full-backs Myles Judd and Alfie Paxman and co, he will score.
He said: “The players know what I’m capable of if they put those sorts of crosses in.
“I think I had one just before that from Lee Martin. I just got underneath that a bit, and put it over.
“If my wide players and my full-backs keep on putting in crosses like that, I’m sure we’ll have a bit of success.”
Pavey was part of Maidstone’s National League South title-winning squad last term - albeit he found first-team chances hard to come by and instead came back on loan to Crabble.
But he hopes Whites can adopt a similar mindset to the one Hakan Hayrettin’s side had.
“Listen, it’s three points, that game is done now. It’s one game at a time,” said Pavey, who will aim to build on his first goal of the campaign against Tonbridge on Tuesday.
“We had that mentality at Maidstone last year. Why are we going to look ahead, why are we going to look backwards?
“We’d had a bad pre-season. But we are not thinking ‘We have had a bad pre-season, is that going to affect us?’ No.
“There was three points on the line and we won the game.”
Dover had endured a miserable pre-season, losing to lower-league sides such as Folkestone, Ramsgate and even Southern Counties East Division 1 Larkfield & New Hythe, but seem to have come alive since the competitive action started.
Pavey admitted: “You can’t really read into pre-season. Everything is false, you are trying new things and are getting your minutes in.
“We had a couple of meetings between us to say pre-season wasn’t good enough but, when there’s three points on the line, it’s a different story.
“You are competing for something.
"We all want to achieve something as players and, hopefully, we can go and do that.”
Pavey has already said he wants to help rebuild the bond between the players and supporters with the club - and can already see those plans coming to fruition.
“When I returned to the club this year, I said the first thing we want to do is re-connect the fans and players. I think we are slowly getting there,” said the ex-Maidstone, Dartford and Millwall forward.
“Yes, wins will help do that, but so will the little things.
"Going over there and clapping them, showing that we appreciate them, and making sure all the players go into the bar, show their faces and have a few conversations with fans. Things like that.
“This club has had a tough time over the last two years and so it’s down to us, as players, to get it back together.”
