TERRAS’ chief Jason Matthews believes his job has only been made harder by his side’s performance in their latest defeat of rivals Dorchester.

Several Weymouth players staked a claim for another first-team chance as the Magpies were knocked out of the Red Insure Cup on Tuesday night.

One of the factors behind the Terras’ success this season, according to Matthews, has been his squad’s strength in depth – and he feels that has improved even more after the midweek derby triumph.

“What the game did show me was that we have got a lot of competition for places,” he said.

“Having a good strength in depth is what you need and you can’t go through a season with 11 or 12 players.

“A few of the lads that haven’t played much this season got 90 minutes against Dorchester and I was really encouraged with the performance.

“I felt Jamie Beasley was excellent on the night and he has given me an extra option up front.

“I’ve been speaking to him and he wants to push for a first-team place.

“He has made my job more difficult now because he is playing well and knocking on the door.

“There are a lot of people pushing for places now and that’s part of the reason for our early-season success.

“Jamie West was outstanding in pre-season and is very unlucky not to be starting.

“Ashley Wells has played out of his skin and made himself undroppable, but Jamie is pushing him really hard.”

On having selection headaches, he added: “That bit of management is difficult, though it is a nice problem to have.

“But it’s not nice when you name your starting line-up and you’ve got six other disappointed faces in front of you.”

Meanwhile, Magpies’ boss Graham Kemp has told Echosport that he will not be looking to add more new faces to his squad following the arrival of Jack Odam at the weekend.

He said: “I’m going to stick with what I’ve got on the player front.

“If anything we are a bit top heavy at the moment but that’s down to having four or five players that are unable to play in the FA Cup.

“But we’ve got a lot of games coming up and we are going into a big week at the club with league and cup matches.

“Now is the time to get continuity in selection. It’s good having new faces coming in but it’s not so great when you are chopping and changing the team.”

Despite the defeat at the Bob Lucas Stadium, Kemp still felt there were positives he could take from the encounter.

He was particularly pleased at the way Jack Odam started his Dorchester career with a goal, while Ryan Murray and Matt Oldring also stood out for Kemp following their return to the side.

“It took a couple of weeks to bring in Jack and I really like the look of him,” he added.

“He looked sharp from the start before we changed our formation in the second half and that didn’t suit him as much.

“There will be more to come from Jack. When we are at full strength we will be able to give better service to him and he can see more of the ball.

“Ryan Murray looked good on the night and Matt Oldring worked hard as well.”