Last season's heartbreak will spur us on, says Whites defender Cloke - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Defender Craig Cloke will do all he can to ensure Dover Athletic clinch promotion into the Ryman Premier League at the end of this season, writes Stephen McCartney.

Whites’ 2-1 win at Cray Wanderers yesterday, courtesy of two goals inside the opening 19 minutes from skipper Lee Spiller and 20-goal striker James Dryden, has put them in a good position leading into their last three league games.

But they face two away games at Burgess Hill Town (next Saturday) and basement boys Corinthian-Casuals before ending their league campaign when Horsham YMCA visit Crabble on the 28^th April.

With leaders Maidstone United and Hastings United both wilting under pressure, losing to Metropolitan Police and Dartford in the heat yesterday, Clive Walker’s men are just five points behind top spot as the season reaches an exciting climax.

However, if Dover Athletic had to settle for the play-off lottery, Cloke and co. are prepared.

After beating Metropolitan Police in last year’s semi-final at Imber Court, they suffered heartbreak in the final when their Kentish rivals Tonbridge Angels won a five-goal thriller in front of over 1,800 fans at the Betterview Longmead Stadium.

And Cloke doesn’t want to go through that heartbreak again.

“We definitely still have to get three points out of every game we play now to make sure we get into the play-off’s,” he said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk following their win at Hayes Lane.

“Horsham YMCA, they would be a good side last game of the season, coming down to the Crabble.

“We’ve got two hard away games (but) every games hard now towards the end of the season, so hopefully we’ll get all nine points.”

He added: “We have got the experience (of last season) so if we get into the play-off’s, we definitely have the experience to hopefully push for promotion.”

Assistant manager Steve Nolan, meanwhile, agrees that last season’s heartbreak will spur them on.

The former Sittingbourne boss said: “It is getting tense but we’ve got a lot of players here who’ve been in these games before.

“Many of them were in the squad last year and we’ve got some experience in there.

“Some players have played in big games and they’re the sort of games that they all want to play in.”

Visit Dover Athletic’s website: www.doverathletic.com