There is definitely no division in the squad, says Dover assistant Paul Joynes

Sunday 13th February 2011

DOVER ATHLETIC assistant manager Paul Joynes insists that the club's current fortunes can be turned around - and Martin Hayes is the man to do it, writes Justin Allen.

Joynes, speaking frankly after the club slipped to a bitterly disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Weston-Super-Mare yesterday, says the "FA Cup bounce" has reared its ugly head at Crabble.

But that is not to say that the team should just accept that - and should work hard to put things right and get the club's stuttering promotion challenge back on track.

Speaking to www.doverathletic.com today, Joynes said: "Our performance against Weston was very poor. Results, and some displays, have been disappointing since the FA Cup.

"A couple of the games, we've been very unlucky - but generally speaking it is poor decision-making which is costing us dearly at the moment.

"Ross (Flitney) has barely had a shot to save yesterday, so defensively we weren't that bad. But a mistake from the keeper has made things harder and confidence is definitely low.

"Martin has the respect of the players. There is definitely no division in the squad, despite rumours on the internet forums.

"He is a very laidback guy and someone everyone likes. Martin has never been a throw-the-teacups-around sort of guy. You could argue that the players needed it against Weston - but we were trying to keep everyone's heads up, not knock them all down.

"It's confidence we need at the moment because there is no question that this team is much better than the position we're in.

"I am convinced a scrappy little win somewhere will see the confidence return, because seriously that's what it is, more than anything at the moment."

Hayes and Joynes had a pint with Jim Parmenter last night, and the chairman clearly made his immediate feelings clear at the final whistle yesterday.

Parmenter is "bitterly disappointed" with results since the team were knocked out of the FA Cup after an incredible run, calling them "unacceptable".

The chairman refused to issue a "vote of confidence" at this stage in Hayes - and instead said: "We need to have some serious discussions over the next day or two about the future direction of Dover Athletic in light of these poor results.

"Our No1 aim has always been promotion and now we're struggling to even get into the play-offs, which is certainly not what we hoped for.

"We are struggling at the moment and these are the times in football you least enjoy. I am terribly disappointed with how things are going.

"After our recent run of results, I was looking for a good reaction today - and was not expecting what we all saw."

But Joynes said: "Jim is very disappointed, we could see that. He is very ambitious, and so are the fans, and rightly so. This is a good football club.

"We've gone into the kind of run which so often happens after a great FA Cup run. It seems to be a big trend in non-league football, however we cannot use that as an excuse.

"Yes, the players put a lot of effort into those performances, which saw us win at Gillingham and beat Aldershot at home. And we do have a tired look about us at the moment - but that does tend to happen when you have a few bad results.

"We've then bought a couple in to freshen it up and results have gone against us.

"It's just a case of getting a win, get some confidence back and have a real crack at trying to get back into the play-off picture. We can do it."

Article courtesy of Justin Allen - www.doverathletic.com

Havant & Waterlooville v Dover Athletic

Blue Square Bet South

Monday 14th February 2011

Kick Off 7:45pm

At Westleigh Park, Martin Road, Havant, Hampshire PO9 5TH