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Dover Athletic boss Andy Hessenthaler looks ahead to their National League fixture against Eastleigh at Crabble

Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler admits he knows plenty about tonight’s opponents.

His current side welcome former club Eastleigh to Crabble for their latest National League fixture, as Whites aim to end an eight-match losing run.

Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler. Picture: Andy Jones
Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler. Picture: Andy Jones

Their latest defeat on Saturday saw them beaten 5-0 at ninth-placed Solihull Moors - Andrew Dallas scoring all five goals - while 14th-placed Eastleigh have not played since they lost 3-0 at Stockport last Tuesday. The Spitfires themselves have lost three in a row, shipping nine goals in the process.

Eastleigh are managed by Ben Strevens who had been Hessenthaler’s assistant before the 56-year-old left the Spitfires in 2018 and returned to Dover, with Strevens having been at the helm at the Silverlake Stadium ever since.

“I know Ben really well. He was my assistant,” Hessenthaler said. “I’m pleased they gave him the job.

“They asked me at the time ‘Do you think he could do the job’ and I said '100 per cent'. Their away form has not been as good as they’d like, so I expect they’ll want to address that.

“There are still quite a few players there that I had when I was there. So there are quite a few lads there that I know quite well, but we just need to concentrate on ourselves and perform as best as we can.”

With Whites rooted to the foot of the table, still nine points away from reaching positive points, having started the season on minus 12, criticism from some fans has been inevitable.

But ahead of two matches in four days at home - Dover will host Southend this Saturday - Hessenthaler commented: “The real fans have been fantastic.

“The ones that travelled on Saturday, I spoke to a few of them before the game and I think most of them understand the situation we are in.

“We have been set up to fail and, unfortunately, we are failing. If people think that it’s been easy, it certainly hasn’t been.

“The training schedule for the boys has been really tough. On Thursdays, we share a pitch with Hythe so it’s difficult, but it is what it is.”

When the two sides met in September, Eastleigh won 4-1.

Midfielder TJ Bramble has taken longer than initially hoped to recover from a back problem, although may be fit enough to be involved against Eastleigh.

Academy defenders Will Moses and Alex Green are closing in on respective returns to full fitness, having both been sidelined with long-term injuries.

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