DORCHESTER Town manager Tom Killick wants a drastic improvement in performance level from the Magpies, challenging his side to “come out fighting” at Hanwell Town this evening (7.45pm).

Killick’s comment was made in relation to Saturday’s abandoned match against Beaconsfield Town, with freezing fog intervening at 1-1 after 66 minutes.

The ex-Poole maestro feels the Magpies’ standards fell some way short of his expectations prior to the early final whistle.

And Dorchester now face a lengthy journey to London as they aim to give a truer reflection of their recent displays.

Referring to the Beaconsfield game, Killick told Echosport: “As much as we haven’t ended up losing, that performance has got to sting.

READ MORE: Dorchester Town 1-1 Beaconsfield Town (match abandoned) - reaction

“It’s got to not sit well with us. It doesn’t sit well with me and I feel strongly that it shouldn’t sit well with the players.

“You have to almost allow that to eat away at you a little bit.

“You have to really soak in the upset of that performance, then channel everything into reacting and making sure there’s no repetition (at Hanwell).

“That’s the big message. You can’t paper over the cracks, that was a very poor performance. Game abandoned or not, you can’t escape from that and you have to take that on the chin.

“We have to come out fighting.”

With Dorchester having slipped into the relegation zone in recent weeks, Killick called for his players to recognise the gravity of their position.

He added: “We need the results, other games have gone on and the league table’s not getting any better.

“We need to understand the reality of the situation that we’re in.

“Whether you’re an 18-year-old lad on loan or a 33-year-old Will Spetch, or whoever, everyone needs to understand the situation we’re in and take responsibility to get us out of it.

“That’s just the mentality we have to have.”

Jack Dickson (ankle) and Louie Slough (hamstring) are doubts, while Jordi Foot remains unavailable and Shaq Gwengwe has a one-game suspension carried over after the Beaconsfield abandonment.

Killick brought in a new short-term addition to his squad for the Beaconsfield game in young goalkeeper Thomas Percival-Smith, one of the casualties from Hamworthy United’s league withdrawal.

“I’m quite keen to have a goalkeeper on the bench,” Killick said.

“It makes sense to have that. I’m hoping he’ll be involved (tonight) and then going forward we will look to have a goalkeeper on the bench.

“We’ve got a lad who plays for the under-23s (Sam Duncalf) but he’s signed on for Dorchester Sports.

“It’s difficult. You don’t want to take someone out of regular football just to sit on the bench.

“He’s a young lad and seems to be very promising. We felt with Hamworthy not having a game, it was a good opportunity for him.”