ALAN Walker-Harris admitted it was a relief to get back into the Magpies’ starting line-up following a five-match absence.

The keeper, pictured, was recalled to the county town team by new Dorchester player-manager Mark Jermyn for his first game in charge at Truro last Saturday.

Before the trip to Cornwall, Walker-Harris had not played since the 2-1 defeat against Slough on December 20.

Former boss Graham Kemp dropped him for the Boxing Day derby against Weymouth and he remained behind Shane Murphy in the pecking order until the weekend.

“It was nice to be out there,” said the experienced stopper. “I hadn’t played in a month but I wasn’t going to panic over it really.

“I had to wait for my chance and it was a bit of a relief to be involved again. I’m always training anyway so I wasn’t going to feel rusty after four weeks out.”

Walker-Harris was impressed with Murphy’s performances during his spell between the sticks, claiming the youngster would have learnt a lot from his brief stint as the Magpies’ number one.

He added: “Shane has been out on loan at other clubs and, while it’s good to get games, he needs to be in the right environment and playing at the right level.

“He’ll now get a chance to reflect on the games he played, both in terms of what he did well and didn’t do so well. He has got an appetite to step up again and he knows he can do it if he needs to.”

Meanwhile, Walker-Harris said Jermyn’s appointment as player-manager was just “what the club and team needs”.