DORCHESTER midfielder Charlie Davis has spoken out about his red card against Slough Town last weekend and cited the sending off as a “bit of a learning curve” for him.

Having already been booked, Davis was awarded a straight red during the second half in the 2-1 defeat against the Rebels at the Avenue. That has landed him a three-match ban, which is set to start on Saturday, February 27.

Speaking about the sending off as a whole, an incident which player-manager Mark Jermyn said he could not defend following the game, Davis told Echosport: “I have no questions that it was a sending off but I felt it was harsh (as a straight red) as I had already been booked.

“To be fair, I have looked back at the video and I think their lad has jumped at the ball as much as I have but I had further to travel than he had.

“I won the ball but, as soon as I heard the contact, I thought ‘oh no he’s going to send me off here’.

“I can’t really complain with the sending off but I do think it could have been managed better.

“I think a straight red was very harsh. Obviously the referee doesn’t think it at the time but a three-match ban to a one-match ban is a big difference.”

He added: “It’s just one of those things that happens and it’s done now. I just have to get on with it.

“It’s just a case of being a bit cleverer. With the area of the pitch it’s in, I probably could have just stood up and tried to win the ball that way.

“But if there’s a ball rolling in between you and someone else you just want to win it. It’s just a bit of a learning curve really.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s fixture, Dorchester make the trip to Merthyr Town in a bid to get back to winning ways in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division after picking up one point from a possible six.

And Davis believes the Magpies will be suited to the Martyrs’ 3G pitch at Penydarren Park.

He added: “I think it’s come at the right time for us to play on a good surface, we don’t have to be so direct and it will suit us a bit more.

“They are good side and have good quality, you can understand the quality they have because of playing on that surface.

“But I think it should play perfectly into our hands.”

A win for the Magpies could put them within three points of the play-off places