DOVER Athletic caretaker manager Gary Whittle admitted he was "embarrassed" by Whites' performance in the 2-1 home defeat by Heybridge Swifts.

And, looking ahead to this Saturday's rearranged game at Worthing, Whittle warned: "I can tell you now that there will be changes because I have got nothing to lose."

Unbeaten in their three previous league games under Whittle, Dover succumbed to a mediocre Heybridge outfit in a scrappy and ill-tempered match that saw Dover's Dean Readings and Swifts' Daniel Barber sent off, and afterwards Whittle fumed: "That sort of performance is just not acccepable, and I was embarrassed for the club and for the supporters who pay their money.

"The officials were appalling but it was the same for both sides, and I am not going to hide behind that as an excuse. You could put it down to a 'bad day at the office', but I don't think so. I saw things in certain players which will make me take a hard look at how they fit into what I am trying to do.

"In every walk of life, people need a kick up the rear end sometimes. To be fair to the players, they held their hands up at training on Monday and admitted that Saturday's display wasn't good enough.

"But they have now left the door open for me to bring in some new faces who will give the fans more than what they were given against Heybridge."

With money to bring in players from outside the club non-existent, Whittle's options are limited but he pointed to the performance of Sam Vallance as an example of what could happen when reserve team players are given a chance in the first team.

"Sam was our man of the match, and that tells me that some other players in the reserves could come in and do the same thing if they are given the chance," he said.

Whittle will definitely have to find a replacement for Craig Cloke at Worthing, because he is serving a one-match ban, while Matt Carruthers is doubtful because of the "dead leg" he suffered against Heybridge.

Whether Whittle becomes first team boss on a full-time basis will be revealed in the next few weeks. He confirmed that he hasn't made an official written application for the post, saying: "I have had preliminary discussions with Mick Kemp, but I haven't officially thrown my hat into the ring. If I get the backing of the players and the supporters then I will review my position.

"There are two ways of looking at this situation: a new manager coming in from outside the club would still have plenty of time to try to improve things; but on the other hand, he wouldn't have any money to bring in new players because of the club's financial position, and it could simply produce even more disruption."