Dover Athletic manager Andy Hessenthaler calls players in for extra training after loss at Eastbourne Borough

Boss Andy Hessenthaler had Dover’s players in for extra training on Sunday after conceding they were not good enough in their defeat at Eastbourne Borough.

Whites have won two of their opening seven National League South fixtures.

Against Eastbourne on Saturday, Luke Wanadio equalised after ex-Gillingham man Chris Whelpdale had scored for the hosts. But Jake Hutchinson restored Eastbourne’s lead and the Colchester loanee netted again at the start of the second half.

“We were not good enough - it’s as simple as that,” said Hessenthaler. “There’s no hiding away from it.

“We had a good spell when we were 1-0 down and scored a very good goal. But it’s criminal defending for the first goal after a couple of minutes, then we get back into the game and score, but we conceded straight after we scored. Even the third one was just after half-time.

“You cannot legislate for that, the boys know that. It was exactly the same against Ebbsfleet. If we cut the mistakes out, we will be fine.

“It was a frustrating afternoon, we expected to do a lot better. We have come under a bit of criticism, which is fair enough.

“We were in on Sunday. But I have got to give my players a lot of credit because we are not a full-time outfit.

“According to some at Eastbourne, we are a full-time outfit but we are not. Getting them in on a Sunday was harsh on them but they worked hard.

“We trained again on Monday and a lot of them went to work in the afternoon after that. There’s people working in warehouses and Alfie Paxman for Tesco.

“We just train two or three mornings a week, whereas other teams train in the evening and work during the day.”

Hessenthaler doesn’t think it will take long for 16th-placed Dover to iron out their early-season defensive