BLANDFORD United boss Josh Feirn revealed his respect for former club Dorchester Sports ahead of a reunion at Park Road tomorrow (3pm).

Feirn played for Sports’ reserve team midway through the 2010s before switching to management with the Royals’ second string.

Following the departure of new boss Andy Savage, Feirn has stepped up to become first-team manager and has led his side to four consecutive Jewson Dorset Premier League wins this season.

But with Sports recording four wins from six games, Feirn holds Blandford’s opponents in high regard.

He told Echosport: “I’ll take the four wins. I said if we had 12 points from the first four fixtures, I’d be happy.

“Admittedly, the Corfe and Wareham games we were poor and thanked our lucky stars we came away with wins.

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“You can’t always play well and if you can win games not playing well it shows great character from the lads.

“We go into this game with Dorch Sports and they’ve made a flying start as well. I’m good friends with Ash (James, manager) and know him well.

“It’ll be a tough game, they’ve made some really good signings so it will be difficult but if we can set up and play well against them we can get something out of the game.”

In the opposing dugout, the admiration is evident for Blandford’s rapid improvement over the past few seasons, which has led to multiple top-half finishes and a Dorset Senior Trophy final.

James said: “They’ve won every game – four in the league and a cup game. It was pretty impressive them scoring eight away from home against a good Bournemouth (Sports) side.

“They’re probably one of the most in-form teams in the last two years in the DPL.

“It’s a tough place to go and they get good crowds. It’s one of the toughest places to go in the DPL now.

“We’ll have to show really good character, see if we can go down there, put on a good performance and get a result.

“Josh used to play for our reserves maybe six or seven years ago. He’s a nice lad was a good player. It’s the first time coming up against him, so that will be good.

“When we first came into the DPL it was normally a guaranteed three points and the way they’ve improved over the last few years is unbelievable, fair play to them.”

Blandford are without striker Sam Watson plus Tom Oliver (both Covid-19), and Reuben Stanley. However, star midfielder Archie McCarthy returns.

Sports will conduct fitness tests on Jack Steele (knee), Alex Godfrey (ankle) and Darren Watts (thigh) but defenders Sam Buckler and Ash Smith are out.