Hill hails Vickers' appointment (From Dorset Echo)

Hill hails Vickers' appointment

9:21am Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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SKIPPER Kevin Hill has hailed the appointment of Ashley Vickers, believing the Magpies’ boss has earned the right to take charge on a permanent basis.

Vickers was made the long-term manager of the county town side at the weekend after guiding Dorchester to 21 points in 17 games.

And Hill, who has another year to run on his current deal, is happy to see the removal of any uncertainty surrounding the managerial role for next season.

He said: “It’s good news as everyone knows what’s going on. It makes things a lot easier for us and for Ash and it’s a decision that makes sense.

“He’s deserved it. He may have got some stick early on when we weren’t getting the results but he has stuck at it and done well.

“People have different ways of going about management and Ash certainly makes sure he gets everybody up for each game.

“Everybody gets on well and if you can get a happy camp together, all working for each other, then that’s half the battle.

“Things were looking dire around Christmas and New Year when we lost to Weymouth but one or two wins breed confidence.

“The aim now is to finish much higher next season.”

Hill made his 66th appearance for the Magpies in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at play-off chasing Braintree Town.

And the 34-year-old, like his manager, was left wondering what might have been.

He added: “Braintree are flying high but if we had scored the early penalty it might have ended differently. I thought we were the better side in the first half but they got the first goal and went on from there.

“The ref had a hand in their second goal and he admitted he made a mistake afterwards. I thought I saw his face sink somewhat when Braintree scored from the resulting free-kick but that’s football and it’s how you bounce back that’s important.”

Dorchester have the chance to recover from that loss when they host relegation-threatened Weston-super-Mare on Saturday.

The Seagulls lie 12 points adrift of Blue Square South safety and went down to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Magpies almost seven weeks ago.

Hill though, has warned against complacency. He said: “When you’re playing a struggling side people can turn up thinking it’s going to be a forgone conclusion.

“We have done well in the position of underdogs lately but Weston will be the underdogs on Saturday so we have got to keep our minds focused.

“We always seem to struggle against the bottom sides so hopefully we can change that and get three points on Saturday.”

* Dorchester enjoyed a 3-0 win over Wessex Premier League side Bournemouth Poppies in last night’s friendly at the Avenue Stadium.

On target for the Magpies were Matt Groves, Steve Devlin and Warren Byerley.