DORCHESTER Town’s senior players have been hailed by assistant-manager Stuart Heath for the way they are inspiring the younger members of the squad.

Heath has noticed a change in attitude around the Magpies’ dressing room in recent weeks, one which has corresponded with the team’s upturn in form.

The county town side have picked up seven points out of the last 12 and can follow up Tuesday’s win over Tonbridge with another victory at the Avenue tomorrow when they host Concord Rangers (3pm).

Youngsters Brandon Goodship and Dan Munday were on target in the 2-1 success against the Angels in midweek, while a number of other inexperienced squad members have been stepping up to the plate of late.

And a big reason for that, according to Heath, is the effect that the likes of Mark Jermyn, Jamie Gleeson, Jake Smeeton, Nick Crittenden and Alan Walker-Harris are having on them.

“The four or five senior players at the club have been outstanding and are role models to the younger lads,” he said.

“When they play like they did on Tuesday the youngsters are only going to follow them and raise their own game.

“The likes of Dan Way, Jack Twyford and Dan Munday have been shown by the experienced players what they can do, and hopefully that will continue for the rest of the season and over the next few years.

“Earlier in the season the lads were full of nerves and if we went behind in matches we would buckle under the pressure.

“But Tuesday was a great show of character and if they can keep doing that then more often than not it will bring us results.”

He went on to add: “The players showed a real mental toughness on Tuesday and we thoroughly deserved the win.

“I’ve seen a real change in the mental approach of the team in the last few weeks.

“The attitude changed in training before the Sutton game and since then we have been exceptional.

“It has taken a long time for the squad to settle down but now we are seeing what they are capable of.

“The teams just above us are really looking over their shoulders at the moment, and Concord are one of them.

“We’ve got to make sure we perform as well as, if not better than, we did against Tonbridge to pick up another three points tomorrow.”

The game is scheduled to be the last of Goodship’s loan spell before he goes back to Bournemouth, but Heath told Echosport that Dorchester are working hard to extend his stay further.

Josh Wakefield should return from a dead leg tomorrow and new signing Colin Makoni is set to go straight into the squad.

Magpies (from): Walker-Harris, Case, Smeeton, Jermyn, Walker, Wakefield, Way, Gleeson, Lanahan, Crittenden, Makoni, Goodship, Tennant, Godfrey, Munday, Carlile, Kennard, Rolls