Shaun Brooks

Brooks demands best from Magpies

Dorchester's Director of football Shaun Brooks has urged his team to pull out all the stops to snatch a win in Saturday's clash with Hayes & Yeading at the Jewson Stadium.

The Magpies are in a desperate relegation fight with Weston-super-Mare, Maidenhead United and Sutton United to remain in the Blue Square South.

If Dorchester are able to grab the maximum points and Maidenhead and the Seagulls lose, Town will move to within four points of safety.

However, should the Magpies lose and the other teams do not, they could find themselves nine points adrift of the pack.

Brooks told the Dorset Echo: "The situation at the bottom changes game by game. Tomorrow is a massive game for us and if things go our way we will find ourselves in a much better position.

"We are desperate to win and put in a good performance for not only ourselves but for the fans as well. However, we know the task facing us is nearly impossible.

"We are at home so we should try and throw the kitchen sink at them and try to get in lots of shots and crosses because we've got nothing to lose as such. We need three points to have any chance of staying up."

Their opponents, on the other hand, are neither fighting the drop nor chasing promotion, but are a run of five games without a victory.

Dorchester, however, have lost just one of their previous four home fixtures, much to the delight of Brooks.

He added: "Hayes have got goals in their team so we will have to be on our guard. We've been doing better at home lately which is good because traditionally, not just this season, the club has struggled at home, so we have started to turn that around.

"There's no reason why we can't go into the game full of confidence."

Midfield duo Jamie Gleeson and Tom Mitchell remain doubtful for the crucial encounter but defender Mark Jermyn may return after recovering from a calf injury he sustained in last week's 4-0 drubbing at Hampton & Richmond.

Brooks said: "Jamie has a dead leg and Tom is suffering with a back problem so we will check on them."

In midweek action, the Magpies beat Hamworthy United 1-0 in a reserve team friendly where ex-Portsmouth Academy defender Jon Page and 19-year-old striker Michael Thompson were on trial.

Brooks concluded: "Jon isn't quite ready for this level yet, but will be in six months or so time, Michael came down after a trial at Bournemouth and we'll try to have another look at him."