Manager Chris Kinnear has emphasised the size of the task facing his Dover Athletic side as they struggle to come to terms with life in the Vanarama Conference.

Whites slipped to second from bottom following last Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Torquay United – their fourth reverse in a row – and Kinnear said: “It’s a good league, there’s no doubt about that.

“It’s a massive step-up, it’s more like jumping two leagues with the difference you’ve got between the full-time former Football League clubs and clubs like us who’ve come up from the Conference South.

“And you can’t bridge that gap quickly unless you start spending ridiculous amounts of money which not many people can.

“It’s been a hard learning curve but that’s all part and parcel of getting promoted and we’ve got to keep our heads and start getting some results."

And Kinnear draws encouragement from the fact eight of Dover’s 11 matches so far have been against clubs in the top half of the table, including five of the top six, adding: “We’ve played almost all of the top sides and now we’ve got some games coming up against some of the middle of the road teams when hopefully we’ll be able to pick up some points.”

Four of Dover’s next five matches are against side in the bottom half, starting with home games against Alfreton Town on Saturday and then Aldershot Town next Tuesday.

However, Dover’s inconsistent home form at Crabble over the past few seasons means Whites’ fans can’t be over-confident that the turnaround will start in the next two matches.

New goalkeeper Andy Rafferty, signed as cover for the injured Mitch Walker, will make his home debut against an Alfreton side who beat Nuneaton 1-0 last Saturday.

Kinnear added: “Mitch is is having a scan on his elbow this week. It’s not broken but it looks like there’s ligament damage and he could be out for a few weeks.”