MAGPIES’ first-team coach Stuart Heath hinted the club could still to add to their squad, but will be highly selective with the players they decide to bring in.

Heath was part of the group that travelled to Bovington for a training camp over the weekend – the Magpies were due to play an Army XI yesterday but that was rained off.

Dorchester may still look to bring in a striker before the campaign gets underway, but according to Heath, they will not be hasty in securing a deal for a new frontman.

He told Echosport: “There are plenty of defenders and midfield players out there but good strikers are few and far between.

“If they are of a target man variety or a real goal scorer they do cost a real wage so we have to spend wisely and get the right ones.

“Last season we gambled on a couple of strikers and it possibly didn’t work out. You have to make sure it’s the right one because, if it isn’t, then it can backfire on you.”

The Magpies boast the likes of Ben Watson as a lead striker, with youngsters Mark Irvine, Jonah Ayunga and Luke Woodland also on the books — former Dorchester man Dan Cann featured as a trialist but failed to agree terms.

When former Truro striker Watson signed his new one-year deal in June, Dorchester boss Mark Jermyn told Echosport he had spoken to “about eight different strikers” at that point.

Heath added: “Mark, Jonah and Luke are still relatively young and will make their mark in the Southern League. Ben is very experienced and perhaps we need another experienced frontman.

“It may also be a case of adding a bit more of a physical presence to balance up our attacking options.

“It’s not as easy as it sounds though, and notoriously those players are pretty expensive, so we will have to be patient and keep working with the attacking players we have got, keep showing trust and belief in them, and be patient that the right character comes along before the start of the season.

“If they don’t it’s not a disaster, we believe that we have got good attacking players at the club already.”

One player the club have looked at throughout pre-season is wide man Lewis Blackmore, who had originally agreed a deal with Weymouth last summer before deciding to jet off to play football in America.

Giving the latest on his future, Heath added: “Lewis is still on trial effectively.

“He is a good athlete and has good attributes which he can bring to the squad, but we are really into our last few days of training and trial games.

“In terms of players like Lewis, we will be making a decision on them probably this week during training.

“It’s difficult for these players because they may feel like they are hanging on but, with the small budget we have, we have just got to make sure we make the right decisions.”