Dover Athletic manager Andy Hessenthaler reveals players are still approaching him about joining the club every week
Published: 05:00, 23 March 2022
Updated: 18:15, 23 March 2022
Boss Andy Hessenthaler has revealed he still has players approaching him about joining Dover every week.
Whites have endured a nightmare season, winning just once, and a 2-0 defeat to Yeovil at Crabble on Saturday confirmed their relegation from the National League.
But with 11 matches still to play this season, Hessenthaler wants his players to keep showcasing their qualities as they visit Hollywood-backed promotion chasers Wrexham this Saturday.
“Every week, I’m still getting players that haven’t had clubs (approaching him about joining),” said Hessenthaler.
“There’s so many players in this country that are looking for clubs.
"The list gets longer and longer every year.”
It meant the performance against Yeovil was all the more disappointing for Hessenthaler, who will remain in charge at Crabble next season.
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He’ll be expecting players to put themselves in his thoughts before the summer - or attract suitors elsewhere in the games which now remain.
“I thought we knew our fate before the game and we didn’t (perform),” said Hessenthaler.
“There’s no pressure on us - go and play! There's no pressure on Yeovil, they're not going up, they're not going down.
“The crowd wasn’t good. I can understand that, it’s difficult for them. It (Saturday's game) was a damp squib, really.
"But our players are going to go up to Wrexham on Saturday and probably play in front of 8,000.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to showcase themselves. But they should be showcasing themselves every game because who knows if they are going to be at the club next year.
“If they are not going to be, they’ve got to make sure they do well for either the clubs they are going back to - the loan players - or clubs that may be looking at them or are interested in them.”
Wrexham beat Dover at Crabble in December but it took a late Jordan Davies goal to settle a close game.
Dover have suffered heavy defeats at Barnet and Grimsby this term and Hessenthaler says they’ll need to play better than they did against Yeovil if they are to avoid another hiding.
“We can enjoy it but we won’t enjoy a tonking,” he stated.
“If we play like we did on Saturday, we will have a tonking up there.
“That’s not what we want - that’s not good for anybody. We don’t want to be on the end of those.
“We want to be in tight games, like when we made it difficult at Stockport and Halifax.
"We want to go there and make it difficult for those teams.”
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Thomas Reeves