MANAGER Darrin Chutter hailed the commitment and drive of his Dorchester Town Ladies’ stars after they emphatically re-claimed the Dorset Women’s League title.

The Magpies, who secured the crown across the 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns, saw the championship slip from their grasp last season when they were runners-up to Portland United Youth.

But Chutter insists the squad have “hardened up a bit” this term, as they romped to league glory by six points from Wimborne Town.

Dorchester were also 90 minutes from going through the entire league season with a 100 per cent record before they were beaten 2-0 at Cuthbury in their final fixture.

Nevertheless, the manager expressed his delight with the side’s attitude and believes their fitness levels have also played a big part.

Asked what he thought put the Magpies back on top of their perch, Chutter told Echosport: “They have hardened up a bit to be honest.

“Last year they were a little bit weak with some of the tackles going in but this year, especially on Sunday, even though we lost, it was probably the hardest I have seen them play.

“We have had some very good new players that have come in and strengthened our team this year. The core pretty much stays the same year in year out but they have got their act together as well and realised that losing the title by two points wasn’t a lot of fun last year.”

He added: “A lot of it is down to fitness. There are girls in the team that weren’t necessarily that fit when they came to us but they certainly are now.

“When I ran a men’s team you would get a lot of people there (at training) but you would get 25 to 30 one week and six to seven people the next.

With the girls you tend to get between 12 and 18 every week in all weather.

“Some come between 30 and 35 miles to get there. I will ring them up and say ‘don’t bother coming training tonight because the weather is horrible’ and they will still turn up. That’s real commitment for you.”

Having re-claimed their crown, Chutter’s side are in a great place at present but the county town boss admitted it hasn’t always been that way at the club.

“When I came in it wasn’t like it is now,” he added.

“We have done really well in the last five years but we almost folded.

“We almost joined with Weymouth at one point because neither side seemed to be able to get a full team together.”

A huge part of Dorchester’s success this season has come through star striker Becky Narramore.

She scored a whopping 88 goals in just 15 league outings this term at an average of just under six goals per game.

Narramore, who was targeting a century of goals for the campaign in league and cup, also admitted is was “a bit frustrating” to finish on 97 strikes for the season overall.

Speaking about the season as a whole, she said: “Obviously we were disappointed at the end of the (last) game. We probably played the best we had played all season, we just couldn’t score.

“It was a bit disappointing but Darrin said he couldn’t be cross with us. To only lose one game in 18 wasn’t bad!”