Hayes guided Dover to the third round of the FA Cup this year

Dover boss Martin Hayes believes automatic promotion from Blue Square Bet South is still achievable.

The Whites' 3-1 defeat to Ebbsfleet on Saturday has left them eighth in the table, 13 points adrift of leaders Braintree Town.

But Hayes told BBC Radio Kent: "If Braintree keep going then fair play.

"We know that as long as we're in that mix we'll beat anybody on our day, so if you can't get first you want to get one of the next four places."

He added: "You want to win the league as that takes you up.

"If that's something that we can't achieve come the end of the season then we've got four other places to go for."

In his first season in charge, Hayes is looking continue Dover's climb up the football pyramid after previous boss Andy Hessenthaler guided the Whites to two promotions in three years.

Last year they narrowly missed out on making it three straight promotions as they were beaten in the play-offs.

BBC Radio Kent will have website commentary of Dover's trip to Bromley on Tuesday night at bbc.co.uk/kent

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