DORCHESTER Town will again be without Jake Smeeton this weekend after the defender suffered a blow in his bid to overcome a hamstring problem which has kept him out of his side’s last nine games.

Smeeton, who has not played for the Magpies since their 1-0 league win over Burnham on October 21, misses tomorrow’s trip to St Neots Town (3pm), as does the suspended Dan Smith.

Boss Graham Kemp told Echosport that Smeeton’s condition did seem to be improving last week, but now the club will be looking to get a second opinion following the players’ latest setback.

Nick Crittenden (back) was taken off as a precaution during the defeat of Swanage Town & Herston on Wednesday, though he should be fit to travel to Cambridgeshire with the rest of the squad.

Commenting on Smeeton’s fitness, Kemp said: “Smeets is still injured and we are now looking at getting a second opinion on his problem.

“Our medical staff think it could be tendonitis, which is more of a condition than an injury.

“He did look to be improving slightly last week, but it looks to have stagnated or even got worse since then.

“It’s obviously very frustrating for Smeets and us.”

And on being without Smith tomorrow, he added: “It’s a big blow for us as he is our main attacking threat.

“You need to be at full strength when you go to a side like St Neots and picking up cheap bookings doesn’t help.”

The Saints bolstered their squad this week with the signing of midfielder David Hutton from Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division rivals Dunstable.

Manager Gary King has not been shy in dipping into the transfer market of late as he bids to get his side’s season back on track after an indifferent run of results.

They may be fifth in the table but one win in the last seven league outings does not represent the form of a team pushing for promotion.

And while he is aware of the threat the Saints pose, Kemp is not going to let anything get in the way of his preparations.

“The more I ask around, the more good things I hear about their players,” he added. “But we’re not going to take any notice of that.

“For the first time since I’ve been here I’ve not been stuck in the office making calls about players coming or going.

“The squad is settled and everyone is quite happy with how things are.”

Magpies (from): Walker-Harris, Hanger, Oldring, Rolls, Murray, Dillon, Walker, Crittenden, Gleeson, Lanahan, Brookes, Parrett, Robinson, Matthews, Odam, Walsh, Godfrey