FORMER Dell defender Mark Dennis is using his Saints connections to add a dash of experience to his Fleet Town side.

The Calthorpe Park co-manager is busy coaxing 40-year-old ex-England and Pompey winger Mark Chamberlain out of retirement and into the fight to preserve Fleet's Eastern Division status.

The pair of them coach at the Saints Academy and Chamberlain - who was last in non-league football as player-manager of Jewson Wessex League outfit Fareham Town - was invited up to Calthorpe Park for his first training session last night.

Dennis, whose side are at home to Erith & Belvedere tomorrow, said: "Mark's been playing a few charity matches and he's still mega-fit.

"He'll do a good job for us because we're such a young side at the moment and need some extra experience."

Dennis and joint-boss Adie Aymes have also made a signing at the other end of the age scale. He is 19-year-old striker Ryan Luffman, who recently walked out on Wimbledon after five years with the Nationwide Division 1 club.

Newport IoW player-manager Steve Tate cannot overplay the importance of tomorrow's must-win Eastern Division basement battle at Spalding.

The rock-bottom Islanders are in the grip of their worst-ever Southern League away start, having failed to win in seven games on their travels. But, with Guy Whittingham back in action and new signing Jamie O'Rourke settling in, Tate reckons there can be no excuses tomorrow.

"If you look at the players we've got now, we're not a bottom-of-the-table team," he stressed. "In Guy, Jamie, Steve Riley, Danny Rofe, Leigh Cole and Mark Preston, we've got people of massive standing who've played at Southern Premier level or above.

"But tomorrow's all about character and the only way Spalding will win is if they want it more than we do. If that happens, then I'll have to look at my side again and see if these are the players I want. I've put my faith in them - and now it's pay-back time."

Cole should bounce back from groin trouble to play his 200th Newport game and Rofe (calf) is expected to be fit. The match pits Whittingham in opposition with another Pompey legend, Alan Biley, who is manager of Spalding.

Paul Sales will be on the Bashley bench at home to Burnham tomorrow - just seven weeks after his groin operation.

The 28-year-old Southampton-based marksman had been pencilled in for a Jewson Combination comeback, but he is impatient for a taste of first-team action as fifth-placed Bashley bid to keep the heat on Eastern Division leaders Dorchester.

Sales said: "I thought I may have been ready last week, but I think the management wanted to be careful and not risk me coming back too soon.

"It's hard watching games because sometimes you think you could come on and make a difference, but the team have been going well and have kept me involved."

Bashley's assistant boss Fraser Quirke, himself a striker, said: "We've been winning games but, personally, I believe we've been creating lots of chances and not converting as many as we should do. Paul will give us that cutting edge back. He fashions goals practically from nothing."

Salisbury City are nursing more than emotional hurt following Tuesday's 2-0 FA Trophy exit at Erith & Belvedere.

Scott Bartlett (thigh) and Roger Emms (hamstring) played through the pain barrier, Ryan King took a nasty kick in the back and Matt Davies is covered in bruises after a night of total commitment.

Striker Stuart Brown missed the game with a thigh strain and manager Nick Holmes said yersterday: "We'll see how things are when we regroup for training. John Purches also missed Tuesday because he was involved with Bournemouth first team and I'm not sure where he stands for tomorrow."

Whites, who sit fourth in the table, are at home to Corby tomorrow. Holmes has a fair idea of what to expect having taken a Wednesday night trip to Northamptonshire to watch Corby's 1-0 home defeat by Stamford.