PHIL Simkin is eager for a return to a more hands-on approach as Dorchester Town boss next season.

The Magpies’ manager is close to adding a new face to his coaching team in a move he hopes will allow him time on the training ground that he wasn’t always able to give last term.

By his own admission, Simkin spent a lot of the last campaign simply trying to get a side on to the pitch.

But now the Dorchester chief is focused on helping the younger generation hone their skills, as well as overseeing his side’s pre-match preparations.

Simkin is keen to see the likes of Oakley Hanger and Dan Munday involved more during next season, and he feels a solid base of experienced players is only going to aid their development as well.

“We’ve got some great young players in the squad and hopefully they will come into a side with senior players in it that are more experienced now,” he said.

“The whole ethos of the club is that we want to bring young players through but you have got to have a framework of senior players first.

“We are trying to make one or two arrangements so that I can spend more time on the training pitch from now on.

“I didn’t spend enough time with a couple of the younger lads last season.

“It was difficult to do that a lot of the time because it was just a case of getting a starting XI on the pitch, but hopefully those days are gone.”

He went on to add: “Someone like Oakley Hanger is a tremendous talent but we’ve got to make sure he is just not thrown in like he was at Ebbsfleet on the last day of the season.

“Josh Tennant is another one who I would like to work with more on the training pitch.”

A player Simkin is looking to keep for Dorchester’s first season back in the Southern Premier League is Sam Lanahan.

The midfielder, who also played in defence last term, is considering an offer from the club.

And on the matter of money, Simkin said: “We can only offer what we can afford to offer, like we have said to the lads.

“The budget has increased since last season but it’s by no means one that is easy to manage.

“I still have to be very careful and prudent with it. I’ve had to bypass some players that I would have loved to have signed.

“But with the budget I’ve got we’re not going to be in the market for those players.

“I’m not going to moan about it, it’s a fact of life.”