*BS*Nicky Forster is pleased to announce Steven Thomson as club captain. The vastly experienced midfielder takes the armband, while defender Ian Simpemba is vice captain.*BF*

34 year-old Thomson joined the club in May from Scottish Premier League club St Mirren, where he was a near ever-present for three years. He has also captained Falkirk.

Nicky told doverathletic.com: “Steven is a natural leader and has experience of captaincy at most of his previous clubs.

“He is a talker on the pitch and has the full respect of everyone in the dressing room. His experience and leadership qualities will be important for us this season.

“We are fortunate to have a number of leaders in the squad and Ian Simpemba falls into the same category as Steven. He galvanises players and knows this division inside out.”

Forster had a wide selection to choose from with Shane Huke, Barry Cogan, Steven Watt, Tom Wynter and Lee Hook having previously captained the side.

He said: “It wasn’t an easy decision, as I had five or six very strong candidates. In particular Shane Huke, who was our captain last season.”

Tomorrow’s game at Crabble is the first Blue Square Bet South fixture of the season and the boss has just three players unavailable from his 21 man squad.

Forster said: “Mitch Walker and Ricky Modeste are suspended, and Ben May has a slight calf strain. However, Terry Dixon is fit and will be on the bench tomorrow so we are close to full strength.”