Chris Kinnear jnr is in contention to make his return to the Dover line-up following knee surgery last month in Saturday’s Vanarama Conference clash against Dartford at Crabble.

But not everybody is happy about it – just ask kit manager Rob Hastie.

If the midfielder, son of the boss Chris Kinnear, plays in the Kent derby, Hastie knows he is going to have his work cut out – washing his kit.

Hastie, who has been doing the job for 20 years, says junior is by far the ‘dirtiest’ player in the squad.

He said: “Chris never stays on his feet. If anyone is on the ground from the first minute until the last it’s always going to be him.

“His kit is always filthy at the end of the game. Goalkeeper Andy Rafferty doesn’t even get that dirty to be honest.”

But Kinnear jnr wasn’t about to dispute Hastie’s claim.

He said: “You have got to put your body on the line and if that means I have to get down and dirty to do that, well, you have just got to do it.

“And besides, if I don’t do it, I am sure someone close to me, someone who stands on the sideline, will bark at me and I don’t want that, do I?”

But on a serious note, Kinnear, whose last game was when he played through the pain barrier in the 1-0 FA Cup second round triumph at League 2 Cheltenham on December 7, said he was looking forward to hopefully playing against Dartford.

He said: “That’s if I am included in the squad! I’ll have to wait and see what the boss decides – I get no special favours.

“I was close to being part of the squad at Havant but that wasn’t the sort of pitch you can make a return from a knee injury from.

“Another week of training under my belt will do it good and hopefully I’ll get the nod this week.”