Dorchester Sports opt against Step 6 promotion bid

Sports have for the past two seasons filled out the necessary paperwork to move up from grassroots level, with clubs required to submit their applications by late December.

The FA has preferred bids from Gillingham Town and Ham Rec to Dorch Sports on those occasions.

This season, Sports are well in the mix for the Jewson Dorset Premier League title, currently sitting in second – level on points with Sturminster but behind on goal difference.

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However, James felt a promotion campaign was unsuitable for his club this season on numerous fronts.

He told Echosport: “We’ve had a think about it and this year we’ve decided not to apply to go up.

“One of the main reasons is they’re putting another division in at Step 5, so we don’t really want to be going that way.

“We’re hoping to see how the divisions pan out in the summer.

“We’ve got a lot of players who live in the Poole area and it’s not ideal for us to go (Western League) way.

“The other main reason is finance. It’s going to be a hard year for everyone this year and sponsorship might be a little bit tougher to get hold of for next season.

“We’ve just felt it’s not quite ready for us and we’ll regroup in the DPL again next year.”

James appears to be looking long-term, with promotion ambitions only shelved for the time being.

“We’re playing the long game,” he admitted. “We’ve lost some really key players as well, they would’ve been ideal for us to go up.

“We felt last year we had a really good squad that would’ve coped with that step up.

“This year we’ve had to regroup and we’re still doing well, obviously, but we’re having to bring in some younger players.

“I think another year in the Dorset Premier League, then they’ll be ready to make that step up to the extra level.”

James’ men continue their DPL efforts with a trip to Sherborne Town Reserves on Saturday (2pm).