ROY O'Brien is aiming to put the pain of relegation behind him by helping the Magpies to promotion next season.

The defender, who made 36 appearances for Dorchester last term, is also keen to continue in his duel role of player-coach.

But while director of football Shaun Brooks waits to determine the make-up of his backroom staff, O'Brien would also welcome the addition of club captain Alex Browne as a coach.

He said: "I hope to sit down with Shaun and see what happens. Alex would definitely be welcome on the coaching side because he's been around the club and the non-League scene for a while. He knows his football."

The Irishman was forced to take the majority of training sessions during last winter while Brooks recovered from a cancer scare. But O'Brien is hopeful the bad times are firmly behind the county town club.

He added: "We had some disruptions that couldn't have been helped and we could never have envisaged, but hopefully with the results we achieved after Shaun came back, it is a sign of stability at the club.

"Hopefully everyone will learn from the mistakes of last season and look to hit the ground running next season.

"We got ourselves in this position and it's up to us to get ourselves out of it. If we can take the last few months of the season on board, and bring in some new additions, hopefully we'll push on.

"The lads, myself included, want to play at the highest level possible. I've been lucky enough to win things in my career but relegation is something that has never happened to me before so I want to have a good season next year."