DORCHESTER Town striker Ben Joyce is determined to put his injury problems behind him and produce the goods for his new club next season.

The former Weymouth man had the second half of his campaign tarnished by an ongoing case of shin splints last term, but with his new move, he is adamant to get back on the pitch and show the fans at the Avenue what he can do.

“I need to be careful and it was disappointing last year,” he told Echosport.

“After my first year with Weymouth I really wanted to push on but the injury really killed the second half of my season.

"I don’t want that happening again and I’m hoping that after resting it and taking some time out the problems won’t come back.

“I have been doing a lot of work in the gym but I’ve had to be careful with my running and, so far, I have had no reaction.

" It’s been two months since I’ve done any hard running and I’m hoping that when I strengthen my calf muscles up I will be ready to go out in pre-season 100 per cent.”

The former Swindon Town man admits it was a tough decision to swap the Bob Lucas Stadium for the Avenue, but believes that he needed a new chapter in his career.

He added: “It was something I had thought about at Christmas when I had to take some time off to recover.

“It was a tough decision to leave Weymouth because I enjoyed my two years there, I just felt it would probably be the best thing for me to move on at the end of the season. Sometimes you just need a change.”

And with the switch, Joyce is relishing the prospect of bringing the Magpies success next season and believes that manager Phil Simkin’s plans stand the club in very good stead.

Joyce added: “It was a good offer, it was good for me in terms of travelling and I think we will have a good side this year.

“I spoke to Phil a few times and he was very keen to get me there and tell me what he wants for the future, he has told me some of the players he is looking to sign and they are good players.

"If he brings in the lads he wants to bring in, we will be a very good side.

“Whatever position I play in I want to score goals, Phil has brought me in for that reason because they did struggle to score goals last season and I’m looking to change that.”