AS Dorchester's injury toll mounts, manager Mark Morris says its "ridiculous" that his players are being forced to play their third game in six days away to St Leonards tonight.

And he says he may decide to pull some of his regulars out of next week's Dr Martens Cup local derby clash at home to Weymouth and the Dorset Senior Cup game at Hamworthy the following Saturday in order to keep them fresh for more important matches.

Full back Mark Jermyn took a kick on the calf muscle in Saturday's 3-0 home win over Corby Town and with Martyn Sullivan, Phil Andrews and Matty Holmes already out and Andy Harris starting a two-game ban next Saturday, the injury list is threatening Dorchester's promotion challenge.

Morris said he believes his side are being asked to play too often.

"We will have had something like nine or ten games in a month and I can't remember the last time we did a constructive training session," he said. "I think they have got to reduce the number of games these lads are playing. It's ridiculous that we have to play so many at this early stage of the season - although we have known about it for some time and we will just have to do our best to overcome it.

"However having another game so soon after Saturday's doesn't give injuries like Mark's time to clear up and although we will be keeping our fingers crossed he might recover I will be making alternative plans in my mind."

Morris said it was even more important to win at St Leonards, who the Magpies beat 1-0 at home in September, because it was their last game in the league before a run of three cup matches.

"The league is our priority and if it means we have to rest some players for the cup games we will have to prepare ourselves for that.

"Obviously Weymouth is a big game down here and we are looking forward to it, but if it means resting two or three on the night and people saying to me why

didn't they play I will say that at the end of the day my priority is to win important league games and to try and beat Mangotsfield in the Trophy to get some money into the football club.

"At the moment we are just about getting through and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we will get a few back into the squad.

"If it comes to the situation where I have to go and loan players then I will, but I don't particularly like doing it because they don't owe the club anything and it's more a vehicle for them to put themselves in the shop window.

"But all the time I have people who are my players at the club I will put them first. As the weeks go by however there are people I have identified who I would like to bring to the club, but we may have to wait until just after Christmas for other teams to have a bit of a clear out. There is some money available to me at the club and if necessary I will go out and use it."