OAKLEY Hanger has stressed the importance of a healthy life off the pitch to his Dorchester Town Under-23s side.

Hanger succeeded Franklyn Clarke as boss of the Magpies’ emerging talent in late 2020, working alongside assistant Brian Churchill.

And the former US college defender is looking to emphasise the value of making gains away from matchdays.

He told Echosport: “Once a few more people get their jabs and the vaccine’s rolled out, hopefully we can get back into pre-season.

“It will almost be like a prolonged pre-season, where we can get a couple more friendlies in than we’d be used to.

“That would definitely suit us with the position we’re in, then we can kick-start properly.

“For me personally, I enjoy being fit and keeping fit, seeing that improve my game.

“One of the main things in our league is the fitness, the commitment to eating well and working hard away from the training ground.

“We only train twice a week and a game on Saturday. What you do away from it has a massive impact on a Saturday.

“That’s something I’m always really focused on and just the little things like that are what I try and bring to the 23s.

“Things away from the ground impact so much on a Saturday or a midweek game. It’s important to get that right, it’s always a good base.”