There was just one problem when Seth Nana Twumasi came to Dover’s aid on Saturday - he didn’t have any boots.

Twumasi, having been ruled out with the knee injury that had sidelined him since early November, travelled to Crabble to watch Whites’ National League clash with Wrexham.

But with Dover short on defenders, losing Harry Ransom on the morning of the game through illness, Twumasi offered his services to grateful manager Andy Hessenthaler.

He borrowed the suspended Danny Collinge’s boots - which were three sizes too big - to get through a fitness test.

Given the all-clear to play, he sourced some better-fitting boots from young striker Noah Carney - these were only one size too big - and produced a colossal display playing out of position in central defence, as Dover were edged 1-0.

“The knee wasn’t right, I wasn’t supposed to play,” said Twumasi, a right-back by trade.

“I said I’d be happy to play if needed and I did a little fitness test, which was OK, and I played.

“I didn’t have any boots with me so I had to borrow Danny Collinge’s boots to do the fitness test - he’s size 12 and I’m size nine.

“I was passed fit and then I had to find some boots that weren’t quite so big for me, so I borrowed one of the subs’ boots, Noah Carney, which were size 10, and Alex Green’s shinpads.

“The knee’s a bit sore, I’ve got ice for the journey home, so we’ll see how it reacts, but I’m always there to do a job for the team if I’m needed, so I’m happy I was able to get through the 90 minutes.”

Dover put up a great fight against Wrexham but their wait for a win goes on after conceding direct from a corner with six minutes remaining.

“I just wish we’d got something out of the game,” said Twumasi.

“It’s one of those where people are going to say you played well and didn’t win, but it’s dragging on with defeats.

“I’d rather we played rubbish and won.

“There’s been three or four games that we haven’t really been in, all the others we’ve been in, then we concede a goal or make an individual mistake and we keep losing.

“People are thinking we’re getting battered every week but that’s not the case."

Whites boss Hessenthaler was full of praise both for Twumasi’s commitment to the cause and his performance.

He said: “Seth’s been out for quite a few weeks, he hasn’t even trained and he said, ‘Gaffer, I’ll play, it’s sore but I’ll play,’ and I thought he was exceptional.

“He’s a right-back playing centre-back against Paul Mullin, who’s signed from Cambridge, the leading scorer in League 2 last season, and to perform that way is a credit to him.

“He wasn’t in contention to play - he didn’t even have his boots - but he’s borrowed a pair and gone and performed like that."