Chris Kinnear hopes to add to his Dover squad in the coming days but claims the biggest challenge is finding upgrades at a price Whites can afford.

Dover sit a point outside the play-offs in Vanarama National League, although with just nine points separating third place and 12th, January could be a key time for plenty of sides, including Kinnear's.

The Dover boss dismissed recent links with Torquay duo Tyrone Marsh and James Hurst but admitted: “We are in the market and looking to strengthen the squad but I don’t want to sign someone for the sake of signing them in January.

“It’s a case of finding the right players. The better we become, the better anyone we bring in has to be too and, of course, the more expensive they are.

“It’s all about raising standards and finding players that are better than we have got but there is no desperation – we are getting everyone back fit.”

Kinnear said skipper Jamie Grimes (groin) is in contention to start at Lincoln on Saturday (3pm), while Liam Bellamy could feature after returning to full training following a knee injury.

The Sincil Bank side sit two places and four points behind Dover and Kinnear said: “We played there last year. It’s a lovely place to play and a big ground with a lot of fans but we will be going there looking to win – it’s the only way we know. We’ll have three forwards and we’ll go for it.”

While Lincoln’s average crowd of 2,900 is almost three times Dover’s average home attendance, Kinnear welcomed the third-straight 1,000-plus crowd at Crabble for the abandoned derby against Welling on Saturday.

He said: “Hopefully, people are getting behind us after three years of success here. We’re on a bit of a limb out here and it can take a while for supporters to realise that the club is moving forward.”

Whites have released wideman Jaydon Gibbs – brother of Arsenal and England player Kieran. The former Aldershot man had not featured since the 1-0 defeat to Braintree in October. He signed for Whites in August.

Teenage striker Tomi Adeloye scored his first goal for Leatherhead in their 2-1 win against Merstham.

The former Stoke trainee signed on dual registration terms having failed to appear for Dover since arriving at Crabble at the end of November.