CLOSING the gap between them and fellow strugglers Frome will be the number one aim for Dorchester Town tonight.

The Blindmans Brewery Stadium in Somerset sees the Magpies take on the Robins in a massive Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division showdown (7.45pm).

Both sides sit perilously close to the bottom of the table after hugely disappointing seasons so far, while a gap has started to open up between them and the sides above.

The Magpies and Frome go into the fixture buoyed by positive results in their last outings, with a draw against Poole and defeat of Histon respectively ending poor runs of form.

Jack Odam and Dan Woodward are unavailable for Magpies’ boss Graham Kemp, though former midfielder Lewis Morgan is in the squad after signing dual registration forms with Sherborne.

Frome have also been recruiting recently, most notably ex-Newport striker Jake Harris, while Kemp’s charges are set to face two men, Ben Thomson and Jack Vallis, that he made approaches for late last year.

“The Poole result has given us confidence,” said Kemp.

“The lads were buoyant after the match.

“We’ve lost a few games like that this season and we didn’t deserve the same thing to happen again.

“It was nice to get over the line and pick up a point, and it was one of the few times I’ve had a full strength squad.

“Having someone like Jake Smeeton organising things at the back was good too, it was just a shame Saturday’s game was called off because we were ready to go.”

Commenting on the importance of tonight’s contest, he added: “We all know how huge the game at Frome is.

“Both sides are looking to get out of trouble so it’s a really important game for the two of us. When you look at the league, there are now six points between Frome (19th) and Histon (18th).

“That means you’ve got to put a run together to make sure you are well clear of the relegation zone.

“Like ourselves, I think Frome are surprised to be down the near bottom of the table, but they have signed a couple of players recently and will make it really tough for us.”

With Hereford United’s record expunged after their winding up last month, Dorchester now find themselves 21st out of the 23 teams in the league having lost the three points they gained against the Bulls in August.

Magpies (from): Murphy, Oldring, Smeeton, Gleeson, Walker, Dillon, Lanahan, Crittenden, Smith, Walsh, Hanger, Allen, Brookes, Godfrey, Morgan