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Keeper poser for Whites boss

WAITING GAME: Paul Hyde
WAITING GAME: Paul Hyde

DOVER Athletic manager Richard Langley must decide whether he can continue to gamble on the fitness of goalkeeper Dave Wietecha ahead of Saturday's trip to Chippenham Town.

The former Folkestone Invicta player's knee problem flared up again in the warm-up before last Saturday's 1-1 home draw with Hinckley United.

Wietecha had to pull out of Whites' line-up, which meant Paul Hyde was drafted in off the subs' bench just minutes before kick-off, leaving Dover with only two substitutes available during the game.

With his side already disrupted by injury, it was a last-minute problem that Langley definitely didn't need.

He said: "I made a massive decision to bring Dave back for Saturday after Paul had played in the previous two matches. Paul wasn't happy and I knew he wouldn't be, but I stuck with it because, as I have said before, I believe that Dave's sheer physical presence could prove important in the run-in.

"But we know that Dave has got this knee problem and sometimes something in his knee just pops out. And that happened again on Saturday.

"He says that it's okay again once its popped back in, and he will be in the squad for this Saturday, but I haven't decided yet whether to play Dave or Paul."

Whites boss must also plug the gaps created by the absence of two of his key players, captain Andy Arnott and Danny Chapman, both of whom start suspensions on Saturday

Arnott is ruled out for four matches following his dismissal at Weymouth. He received a two match ban for the red card and a further two matches for collecting 10 or more cards this season.

Chapman, who missed the first six matches of the season through suspension and a further three matches in January for a sending off at Weston-super-Mare, takes his tally into double figures with a two-match ban for his dismissal at Weymouth.

Langley saw the Hinckley game as the first in a "10-match mini league" which will decide whether Whites will be playing in the new Conference South next season.

He said: "In the circumstances, I thought getting a draw (against Hinckley) was a good result. The important thing is that we didn't lose, and I reckon if we get 10 points from our last 10 matches that will be probably be enough (to finish in the top 13), and even if we get there by the skin of our teeth, it will still be 'job done'.

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