DORCHESTER Town boss Callum Brooks insists the Magpies will be “judged” over the “long term” rather than with defeats to BetVictor Southern Premier South big guns Truro City and Salisbury.

Brooks’ men have endured tough away trips to City and the Whites, losing 3-0 and 4-1 respectively despite giving both teams a scare with improved second-half performances.

Those dominant spells have handed Brooks encouragement during the lengthy wait for the Magpies’ next game away to Blackfield & Langley on Bank Holiday Monday (3pm).

He told Echosport: “The way we were in it for long periods against Truro is positive and the way Salisbury changed their shape and brought Toby Holmes off because of the threat we were carrying is also a positive.

“If you took at those results in isolation, people wouldn’t have given us too much of a chance when you come to places like those.

“If we would have lost both games in the 90th minute after giving a really good account of ourselves, we would still only be on three points.

“As it happens, you look at the scoreline, it’s a fair bit more convincing and we’ve still only got three points.

“Where this group will be judged is over the long term. We need to improve quick and iron out the mistakes.

“There’s some fixtures coming up where we’ve got an opportunity to get some points and if we beat Blackfield we’ll be on six points out of 12, which’ll probably put (us) into the top half of the table, where we need to be.”

Brooks also questioned why Dorchester did not produce a first-half performance to match that of the second.

He said: “With the way we’ve been there’s that little element of we haven’t quite given a good account of ourselves.

“Why only for half an hour? If we would’ve played like that in the first half, I’m certain we’d be leaving with at least a point.”

Normally a manager to focus on the positives, Brooks explained there were hard words exchanged in the Magpies’ dressing room during half-time at Salisbury.

He said: “There were some home truths said. I don’t want to make out that whatever the result I just go positive, positive, positive.

“It wasn’t like that, there were elements I was really, really disappointed with. But the reality is in nine days’ time if we’re sitting there with six points after beating Blackfield we’ll be in the top half.”