Manager Andy Hessenthaler’s hopes of freshening up his Dover squad have been dealt a blow.

He had been keen on bringing a couple of players in after the recent departures of striker Reece Grant and versatile midfielder Arjanit Krasniqi, who have both since signed for league rivals Chelmsford.

But speaking after Whites’ New Year’s Day 2-1 home loss to Dulwich, he explained he has spoken to chairman Jim Parmenter - and revealed finances at Crabble are presently tight after a recent lack of home fixtures.

Hessenthaler said: “I have had a conversation with the chairman and the budget is tight. Obviously we haven’t had many home games in recent weeks so revenue has been tight.

“I have had the conversation but I think it’s difficult to bring anyone in at the moment.”

Dover took the lead in the first half through top scorer Alfie Pavey, only for striker Danny Mills to get Hamlet a deserved leveller shortly before the interval.

But the all-important third goal at Crabble in front of a crowd of 827 saw Joe Felix earn Dulwich the points.

• Report: Dover 1-2 Dulwich

“I’m disappointed with the two goals - [they are] avoidable,” reflected Hessenthaler.

“First half, we didn’t get going at all. We looked tired and I don’t know why.

“We can look at the fact that we have only played two games in four weeks. As a player, I know, sometimes, that can affect you but we won’t hide behind that.

“They were better than us, first half, like we were at their place to be fair. We were the better team at their place but just didn’t take our chances.

"Second half, we got better. We changed our shape, went to a 4-4-2, got two up, pressed their two centre-halves and forced them to go a bit longer.

“At 1-1, to be fair, I thought we were going to go on and win the game. We had quite a few chances which we should do better with, but we got done on the sucker-punch. We didn’t have great possession of the football and we made two poor decisions [for their goals].

“Ty [Sterling] knows he’s got to do better. He needs to foul him or drop off, and Pax [Alfie Paxman] is the other side of the wide player. We didn’t have great possession of the ball so we got done.

“They have got to learn from that. It’s disappointing because we wanted to start the new year off on the right foot.

“I was pleased with the performance at Dulwich but, today, we weren’t at it.”

Dover, 15th, only took a single point from their double-header against Dulwich, drawing 1-1 at Champion Hill on Boxing Day.

Hessenthaler said: “That’s frustrating because we could, actually, easily be sitting here with six points.

“Even though we didn’t play well today, at 1-1, I’m thinking we’ll go on and win the game. We’re pinning them back.

“The first game, I don’t know how we haven’t won the game on chances created. But we have got to be critical of ourselves.

“It’s all right, creating the chances. You have got to take them as well."

This Saturday, Whites are at basement boys Hungerford, who were beaten 2-1 on New Year’s Day at Farnborough.

Richard Harvey has said on social media he is to leave his role as the club's kit manager, sparking praise and support online for the work he has done at Crabble.