Boss Andy Hessenthaler is warning his Dover players not to slip back into bad habits.

Whites were dumped out of the FA Trophy on spot-kicks at lower-league Uxbridge last weekend, hot on the heels of a 3-1 National League South defeat at Oxford City.

Alfie Pavey put Dover ahead, heading in a Myles Judd cross, but Isthmian South Central Uxbridge equalised and then won 4-2 on penalties.

Hessenthaler said: “Obviously we are disappointed with the result.

“We were not at it and the boys know that, we didn’t show them enough respect. They worked harder in the end and deserved to win the game.

“The FA Trophy is not our priority, we all know that, but we wanted to bounce back from the Oxford City defeat. We need to put it right on Saturday.”

Asked if scoring first had helped allow complacency to slip into his side’s game, the boss replied: “Maybe but, when you go 1-0 up early, you should kick on from there and we didn’t. But give them credit, they didn’t fold. They showed more character than us.

“Oxford was a tough one on the 3G but we haven’t shown enough character. We did against Chippenham with 10 men but we didn’t do that on Saturday, which is unusual for the group.

“It was a bad day, we are all disappointed, we cannot serve that sort of form.

"I don’t want to go back to our old habits, where we start slowly, and we need to make sure we do better on Saturday.”

Whites visit Hampton, who are two points below them, in the league this weekend.

Dover skipper Lee Martin is back from suspension while player-assistant manager Mitch Brundle and defender Tyrone Sterling are nearing returns to full fitness after spells on the sidelines. Brundle was on the bench at Uxbridge and came on.

“I think they have a few injury problems, like ourselves,” Hessenthaler said of Hampton.

“We only have 20 players and that’s not a massive squad - you are going to pick up injuries and suspensions with the bookings system. But it is what it is, we work within that budget.

“Hopefully the likes of Tyrone and Brunds will be back soon. It was nice to see Brunds on the pitch and he may be available for the weekend.”

The defeat at Uxbridge saw a first start this season for young defender Alex Green, although his immediate future may be away from Crabble.

Hessenthaler said: “We looked at Alex. We will probably let him out on loan.

“He looked a bit nervous at the start but, unfortunately, there were too many players off their game and it made it hard for him. But I thought Alex did well.

“With players like Tyrone and Brunds coming back, we need to get him some games.

“We have spoken about getting him out for a month and that could do him a world of good.”

Dover’s Academy beat Lowestoft Town 3-0 in the Second Round of the FA Youth Cup on Tuesday through goals from Archie Hatcher, Leo Dodds and Mohammed Ali. They will visit Brighton in the next round.

Academy goalkeeping coach Harry Earls was named on the bench for the first-team at Uxbridge as cover for Stuart Nelson last weekend amid concerns 41-year-old Nelson would not be fit to play.