DORCHESTER Town manager has praised the confidence in his squad ahead of Saturday’s away clash with St Ives Town (3pm).

The Magpies go into the match following back-to-back league wins which have all eased the burden of a relegation scrap, but boss Craig Laird is keen to regain the team’s focus.

He said: “The team are full of confidence, as a group and in themselves. They’re buoyant but we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground.

“We can make it three wins on the bounce which would be a first this season, but that’s a good target and another box to tick before the season ends, but the players won’t be resting on their laurels.

“You can subconsciously take things for granted but that’s my job to keep reminding them of where we are and educating them, which takes a bit of time.”

St Ives currently sit three points ahead of the Magpies, and Laird is expecting a hard match against a side in a similar situation to his own.

He said: “It’s going to be another tough match. They’ll want to pick up points for the same reason as ourselves, to secure their position in the league, but also to build confidence and momentum into the end of this season and next season.

We want to get to 50 points, and if we get there in the next three or four games then we’ll set another target before the end of the season.

“We want to give the supporters something to look forward to before they go into the close-season.”

The Magpies manager also confirmed that Ollie Mehew and Ben Wood have left the club this week, while Jordan Williams and Lewis Powell are set to return to their parent clubs after Saturday’s match, meaning Laird is set to hand an opportunity to the club’s young stars.

He said: “All of the lads who’ve come in have contributed to keeping this club in the division, which is brilliant. They’ve taken the pressure off the senior players and has given us the chance to see them and think that maybe next year we can bring them in again.

“The door now opens up then for some of our young players to show what they can do. The pressure has been taken off them a little bit and it gives them chance to stake their claim for places in the team towards the end of the season and going into next year.”