MATT Groves has welcomed the decision to extend Ashley Vickers’ reign as caretaker-boss until the end of the season.

Vickers took temporary charge of Dorchester Town almost eight weeks ago after Roy O’Brien was shown the door following an embarrassing FA Trophy exit at the hands of bitter rivals Weymouth.

The appointment of a permanent successor though has been curtailed due to ongoing legal issues with ex-chairman Eddie Mitchell.

Former Real Zaragoza assistant Gorka Etxeberria is thought to be the frontrunner but after being given a coaching role at the county town outfit in December, the 37-year-old has since returned home to the Basque Country with a view to flying back to England in a month’s time.

However, Groves hopes that the latest revelation will give the Magpies, whose game with St Albans City this afternoon has been postponed following heavy snow in midweek, some much-needed stability.

He said: “It’s good Ash is staying in charge until the end of the season because before there were too many voices. If Ash is going to be in charge then it’s best to let him get on with it.

“It’s given us some stability as we know who’s in sole charge. Hopefully we’ll get a settled team together now because lately we’ve had players coming in and players going out.

“Once we’ve got a settled team you will see a big improvement.”

One major area for improvement is the Magpies’ goalscoring record.

Dorchester have failed to find the net in 278 minutes with their last goal coming via the boot of Groves in the 2-1 win over Hampton & Richmond more than a month ago.

Since then, the Magpies have failed to score in three fixtures – the Boxing Day stalemate with Weymouth, the 3-0 loss at Blue Square South leaders Newport and the 2-0 reverse at the hands of the Terras on New Year’s Day. And Groves is keen to stop the rot.

He added: “The situation was made 100 times worse because two of the games were against Weymouth.

“It’ll just take one goal to get us going again, and once we get that goal it will raise the confidence of the whole team.

“We’ve got a lot of games in the coming weeks and if we can get a few wins under our belts we’ll be up near mid-table. We just need to get that first win and go from there.”

Groves has also welcomed the addition of fellow forward Jules Emati-Emati, who last month joined the Magpies from Dawlish Town.

He said: “We need competition as there is nothing worse than thinking you’re guaranteed to play every week. If there is someone there competing for your place it keeps you on your toes.”