Clean sheets are a defender’s bread and butter – and Dover’s Tyrone Sterling is no exception.

He and his team-mates have been desperate for a shut-out since their last – in the 1-0 win at Tranmere at the end of October.

They finally achieved it in the 4-0 win against Gateshead, and followed up with another at Guiseley on Tuesday night.

Sterling says everyone was delighted.

He said: “We all wanted a clean sheet because we have put in so much hard work over the weeks but results haven’t been going our way.

“Gateshead are a good team and you have to expect them to start bright. We were a little

bit sloppy but grew into the game, took it on and dominated.

“Not getting one (clean sheet) had been playing on our minds massively and we were a bit shaky in the last 10 minutes or so. We saw it through to the end and think we can look to do that more in the future.”

“It made everyone’s weekend 100% happier and it will just breed a little bit more confidence into the whole squad.”

Sterling added: “We looked on fire at times going forward and the boys took every chance.

“Sometimes it doesn’t always come off but today it did."

Full interview in this weekend's Dover Mercury