Practice makes perfect as far as Dover boss Chris Kinnear is concerned.

His side may be out of contention for the Vanarama Conference play-offs this season but Kinnear is adamant his players will use the remaining nine games as preparation for an assault on reaching them next season.

Whites are 10th, 13 points away from the final play-off berth, after Nicky Deverdics scored a late winner in the 2-1 win over Altrincham at Crabble on Tuesday night.

That was the second consecutive win for Kinnear’s side and he wants to carry that momentum into the run home.

Kinnear said: “I’ve said all along that our first year back in the league was going to be a season of discovery for us and it has been.

“We’ve learned something from every game we’ve played and we’ve got to ensure we keep learning all the way home.

“We play five of the top seven teams so we couldn’t have asked for a better test to see where we are at.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to use the rest of the season as though we are right in the mix for the play-offs next season because that’s were we will want to be.

“You can rest assured that we won’t be easing through until the end of the season.”

Whites will get a great chance to test themselves on Saturday when they host last season’s play-off finalists, Gateshead, at Crabble (3pm kick-off)

Read the full story in the Mercury