Dover boss Chris Kinnear has never been one to rush into signing players and, true to form, he didn’t as Tuesday’s transfer deadline day came and went.

It was a quiet day at Crabble, with only one piece of business being done before the deadline passed, defender Matt Young being released by mutual consent.

The former Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle United man arrived on a non-contract basis early last month and made two appearances as a substitute, in the Vanarama National League opener at Barrow and the home clash with Kidderminster.

Despite Young’s short time at Whites, Kinnear admitted it was still hard telling him he was surplus to requirements.

Kinnear said: “He was one of the best professionals you could ask for – he gave it everything in everything he did while he was with us. But he needs to play games at his age and I couldn’t see that happening.

“I’ve been in this game for a long time and I can tell you that it doesn’t get any easier when you’re telling someone you’re letting them go.”

While Kinnear didn’t do any business on Tuesday, he didn’t rule out doing so when the loan market reopens on Wednesday.

He said: “We did some great business during that period last season and it’s something we will certainly look at utilising again.

“It gives you another option to bring in new players that can add quality to the group, something we did with the likes of Ricky Miller last season.”

As for how his side are going, Kinnear is puzzled there are still some grumblings around Crabble over the performances so far.

He said: “It does make me laugh. We haven’t won as many games as we could or should have but we are unbeaten in six, we are seventh and only three points out of the play-off places.

“That’s a lot to be positive about.”

On Saturday, Whites travel to second-bottom Southport, who beat Altrincham 3-0 on Monday to register their first win of the season.

Kinnear knows that result will give the home side some impetus.

He said: “They will be on a high after that, so we’ve got to ensure we start the game and finish it as well as we know we can.”