DORCHESTER Town’s players can go a long way to nailing down a place in Phil Simkin’s plans for Saturday’s first league game of the new campaign when the Magpies take on Yeovil Town at the Avenue tonight (7.30pm).

Boss Simkin has told Echosport that, at the moment, nothing is set in stone in relation to the make-up of his team for that opening Southern Premier League clash away to Arlesey Town.

One player who won’t be in contention for a squad berth is Jack Twyford following his move to Frome Town.

However, Simkin has covered his departure by agreeing terms with midfielder Jason Brookes, the former Bashley man who had been on trial at the Avenue this summer.

The county town side are likely to face a strong Glovers’ outfit tonight, with ex-Magpies’ striker Kieffer Moore expected to return to face his old club in what is the hosts’ final pre-season friendly.

Moore scored for Gary John-son’s men in the League One team’s 2-1 win at Truro City on Saturday, while Dorchester held an extra training session after their trip to AFC Totton was called off.

Having stated earlier in the week that the match would go ahead, the Hampshire club deemed their pitch unplayable just before the Magpies were about to set off for the game.

A lack of rain in recent weeks resulted in the ground becoming too hard for football to be played – the same problem had forced an earlier friendly against Slough to be cancelled as well.

However, after his players got a good workout on the training ground on Saturday afternoon instead, Simkin is looking forward to them getting another one tonight.

The Dorchester manager said: “It won’t be another Bourne-mouth but it will be a massive test for us.

“Yeovil are likely to bring a strong side down and I would imagine Kieffer will be playing.

“This pre-season hasn’t been easy for us but the players have worked very hard and got themselves to the level of fitness they are at now.”

And when asked if places in his side for the Arlesey game were still up for grabs, he added: “Nothing is definite yet.”

Meanwhile, Simkin had no qualms with Totton’s decision to call off Saturday’s friendly.

He went on to say: “If it had been deemed dangerous then we didn’t want to play on it.

“I don’t want to have players picking up injuries for the sake of playing a friendly match.

“You don’t want people twisting ankles a week before the season starts.”