Mitch Brundle hopes Hartlepool’s FA Cup replay on Wednesday will be an advantage for Dover.

Hartlepool host Gillingham in a first round replay and have a quick turnaround for their trip to Crabble on Saturday.

Whites captain Brundle hopes the extra travelling and game time can give his side the edge.

He said: “We have to use it to our advantage. They are playing this week on Wednesday and then have to travel down on Saturday.

“We have to take everything we can and use it to our advantage to get three points. We have to make sure as soon as that whistle starts they are in for a tough day.”

Brundle, 24, is enjoying life under new manager Andy Hessenthaler and says the move to full-time training has benefited the squad.

He believes Dover are not far away from going on a good run to lift them off the foot of the National League.

Brundle said: “A lot has changed, obviously going fulltime and the training regime has changed. I’m enjoying it and hopefully we can get a few more points on the board and I will be enjoying it even more.

“Training has been good and bright. It has been a positive thing and you can tell by our fitness levels. We just have to make sure we get the points on the board to back it up.

“You can see by our performance levels that we are there or thereabouts. We are not there yet but we are getting there. We are certainly putting all the work in on the training pitch.

“We haven’t given the fans too much to shout and cheer about.

“Hopefully, they will back us and keep sticking with us. It is not going to be easy but with one or two additions to the squad, I am sure we will climb out of the bottom four.”

Brundle worked as a coach when Dover had been training in the evenings.

Some players, such as Connor Essam, were not able to commit to going full-time because of work commitments but there was no hesitation from the Dover skipper.

He said: “It is always something that I have wanted to do, be a full-time footballer. I knew that I had to take work aside and make sure I was able to go full-time. The only way to get the best out of your ability is to go full-time.

“It was important to make sure everything was in the right place. Fortunately, it has and everything now comes back to getting those three points. Every point is vital to us at the moment.”