DORCHESTER boss Callum Brooks has named his club captain and team captain ahead of the start of the brand new BetVictor Southern Premier Division South season which kicks off tomorrow at home to Beaconsfield Town (3pm).

Long-serving defender Neil Martin, who made his debut 10 years ago this week and has gone on to make 366 appearances for the club so far, has been named as club captain, while summer signing Dan Strugnell, who joined the Magpies in May after a seven-year spell with Havant & Waterlooville, has been named as team captain.

Brooks said: “I feel that with Neil and Struggs, they are quite similar personalities and they will work well together. I also feel the two of them together are a proper leadership team, and when I sit back and think of who has got the captaincy roles at the club, it’s above and beyond where I thought we’d be back in March.

“It was imperative when I arrived here we went with a group where the first mission was to was to get us out of trouble, which we did. Then the focus goes towards building a group which you feel can improve the club.”

“When I joined the club Neil was captain, and because of two things – firstly how many appearances he has made and his history at the club, and secondly, the experience I had of Neil during the final ten games, where I gained so much respect for him as a player, a defender and a character – that I wanted Neil to continue to be part of the leadership moving forwards.”

“Because of where Neil is, in his stature at the club and stage of his career, I thought I would like to make him club captain, which demonstrates the huge respect I’ve got for Neil.”

“With Struggs, I feel with what he’s done, I’m a huge admirer of longevity as I say it all the time, and it’s the hardest thing to get in football – it’s probably one of the biggest things I’ve got the most respect for.”

“When I signed Struggs, he’d been at AFC Bournemouth for a long time and then he’d been at Havant & Waterlooville for seven seasons. He indicated to me that he’d like to come here not for just for a season, but for a long-term project and help lead the club on the pitch, so I felt that team captain was the right job for Struggs.”