Chris Kinnear admitted that his focus was mainly on Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Morecambe after seeing his team lost 3-1 to an impressive Folkestone performance. ‘The idea was not to play ant of the side that would play Saturday but the we had to play the game as the Kent FA make us. We brought in some triallists who were 18 and 19, and Raggett was the most experience defender. It was difficult for them, but at the same time it was not worth the risk to play the likes of Orlu, Bonner or Essam – Perhaps if we did not have the big game Saturday, I may have chosen to play a proper back four.’
Lady luck has not been too kind to whites on the injury front of late, with some players likely to miss the big match on Saturday. ‘Craig Stone has broken his ankle and will be out for twelve weeks, whilst Nanetti’s injury looked bad – He is off now for an X ray which is a blow as he would have been ideal to come on with twenty minutes to go and make an impact.’ He also added ‘Barry Cogan has a bit of a groin and hamstring strain, whilst Sean Raggett will be suspended, which is a blow for him as he has not had a good week after some personal upset recently.’
In spite of a number of players being unavailable, Kinnear believes this will be an opportunity for others to impress and stake a claim for a spot in the starting XI. ‘Murphy and Francis have been out of the team and now they are back in and that is what I said to the lads tonight. If you get an opportunity, it is no good just sulking and hiding, you have to show you are good enough to be in the side.’
Looking ahead to the game against League 2 Morecambe, Kinnear stated he is looking forward to the tie. ‘It is quite exciting and we have got a chance if we have a good day. I never used to be bothered about the cup when I first started managing as I always wanted to concentrate on the league, but it really helps raise the profile of the club and considering Dover have only been at this stage four times before. The fact that two of those are this and last season is good going.’ *Lpic1*