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Goalkeeper Stuart Nelson insists he isn’t bothered by the age difference between himself and boss Mitch Brundle.
Nelson, 41, is more than a decade older than his manager who took the top job at Crabble in January as Hessenthaler rejoined League 2 Gillingham as their head of recruitment.
But bullish Nelson said: “The age thing - that’s your issue, not mine for starters.
“Everyone wants to say about age but age doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s a number.
“You can pick any 32-year-old, who has retired from playing football now, and put them up against me - and they’re not going to outrun me!”
It was a bold move by Whites to appoint 28-year-old Brundle but one which appears to be paying off, with Dover’s goalless draw against Bath last weekend extending their unbeaten run to six matches.
Nelson added: “Mitch has come in to lead this group of lads and he’s done a fantastic job and we’re going from strength-to-strength under him, and we’re playing exciting football.
“We’re keeping clean sheets and that’s down to how he’s setting us up.
“I don’t care whether he’s 12 or 102, it doesn’t mean anything to me. Age is really irrelevant and it does bug me, which is why I’ve reacted like this.
“I think Mitch has come in and done a really fantastic job, and the results have shown that.”
Amid Whites’ unbeaten run, they have kept four consecutive clean sheets, which is their best run since the start of 2019. But Nelson was eager to share the plaudits around.
He said: “It’s Dover’s clean sheet.
“Obviously, I’m in goal so clean sheets mean as much to me as goals mean to strikers, so I’ll take every single one of them. That’s 11 for me for the season so I’m happy with it from a personal perspective.
“But ultimately, I can’t do it without the 10 other players who are on the pitch with me at that time.
“In the last four and quite a bit games [since conceding in their 2-1 success over Eastbourne last month], the boys have been excellent on the defensive side of things.”
While Whites shut-out Bath, they couldn't find a way through at the other end, despite looking the more likely to score.
Ex-Gillingham man Nelson reflected: “Bath came here to sort of disrupt us and kill the game a little, sit in and we had to break them down.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that - although we came pretty close on a few occasions.
“Ultimately, you have got to build from the back with clean sheets and give the foundation for the boys to play.
“Soon, someone is going to get thumped. That’s the bottom line.
“If we keep defending the way we’re doing it, then someone is going to come on a good run of goals from us."
Dover host strugglers Cheshunt on Tuesday before a trip to Chippenham this Saturday.
