New Dover Athletic manager Jake Leberl aiming to build from the back after morale-boosting goalless National League South draw against play-off chasing Bath City at Crabble

New Dover boss Jake Leberl admits he will aim to build from the back after his first match at the helm saw his new relegation-threatened charges keep a first clean sheet of the season on Saturday.

National League South Whites ended a seven-month wait for a shut-out against eighth-placed Bath City - although the hosts couldn’t find a way through at Crabble and a draw wasn’t enough to prevent them from dropping to the foot of the table.

Their defensive display pleased Leberl, though, himself a versatile defender from his playing days, and gives Athletic a platform to build from.

Leberl, who set up with a five-man defence, said: “I like to build from the back.

“You like to have three strong boys (as centre-backs), who enjoy keeping clean sheets and want to defend.

“With that, you can be a threat at the other end with set-pieces. Generally, that’s the way we’ll want to go.

“First and foremost, we’ve got to build from the back - like all good teams - and I thought, defensively, we were really solid today against a really good outfit.”

Report: Dover 0-0 Bath

The stalemate meant goalkeeper David Aziaya and defender Scott Holding, on short-term loans from Bromley and Watford, kept a clean sheet on their first Dover starts.

“Both did very well,” noted Leberl, who will be supported by Academy manager Mike Sandmann on the sidelines.

“Scott has come in from Watford. He’s a northern boy so he’s a big, strong boy, so he’s mobile and one that’s going to put his body on the line.

“He’s desperate to do well and push on with his career. I’d like to think he’ll do well for us.

“Everything came about so quickly last week with Billy (Terrell) going back to Bournemouth and we had to get a keeper within two hours, to be honest.

“So, we