Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler has been awarded National League Manager of the Month for April.

The accolade serves as a deserved reward for his role in leading Whites to safety with an impressive nine-game unbeaten run at the end of the season.

Hessenthaler returned to Crabble from Eastleigh in October before taking the club from bottom with seven points to top of the form table by the end of last month.

Having started April with a goalless draw at home to Chesterfield, Dover secured their place in the division with three games to spare by coming from two goals down to beat Barrow 3-2 away from home.

This was followed up by 1-0 wins at home to Aldershot Town and away to Ebbsfleet United, with Hessenthaler's men later capping the season with a 3-0 victory over Sutton United in front of their own fans on the final day.

Dover's remarkable turnaround after the turn of the year saw them finish in 14th place and, incredibly, closer to the play-off spots than the relegation zone.

Speaking at last month's end-of-season presentation, Hessenthaler said: "It's been fantastic to be back. We came back in October with seven points, we had to do a lot of work both on and off the pitch, changing from part-time to full-time. It took time, but we got there in the end.

"I think we've reaped the rewards and we have to give the chairman a lot of credit for that.

"It was going to take time and I think you could tell that in the first part of our results. Gradually on the training ground we started to get the work done.

"For me the players have to take all the credit for that. We knew it was going to be a challenge, finally we got there."

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