Dorchester Town boss Phil Simkin believes it is about time his side opened the season at their Avenue Stadium home.

Only once in the previous five seasons have the Magpies kicked off on home turf, while the last two campaigns began with trips to Bromley and Dover Athletic respectively.

But with the 2012/13 Blue Square Bet South fixtures set to be released today, Simkin is hopeful of a change in fortune.

He said: “I would really like to see us get a home game first.

“We have travelled to Dover and Bromley on the first day of the last two seasons so we are certainly due a home start.

“We are also due a cup run this season and I would really like to see us get one. You can never guarantee the draw but let’s hope it’s kind to us.”

Dorchester’s squad is very much near completion with the addition of goalkeeper Jason Matthews and striker Ben Watson to last season’s ranks.

And Simkin admits his first task this summer was to keep hold of his current crop of players.

He added: “First and foremost you try and keep what you have got and try to add to it because it’s difficult to get people to travel down here.

“Fortunately, we were quite happy with the make-up of our squad, we just needed to improve at the top end, which we have done by bringing in Ben.

“There are one or two lads coming down for pre-season who also may improve that area. But if you’re happy with what you’ve got, there’s no point in changing a lot because the more players play together the better understanding they have of each other.

“We have a tight group here and you don’t often get that at this level. So I was more concerned about keeping what we had and then trying to add to it.

“I’m delighted to have retained the squad and brought in the two players we have. I hope some of the younger lads from the reser-ves can break through now as we have some real quality in the reserve team.”