Birchall was a highly rated youngster in his Arsenal days

Dover Athletic manager Martin Hayes thinks top scorer Adam Birchall can score 50 goals this season.

The 26-year-old striker hit his 40th goal of the campaign on Saturday and the Whites still have nine games to go.

"Adam's scored a lot of goals and he desperately wants to be in the Conference and he'd love that to be with Dover," Hayes told BBC Radio Kent.

"He's got forty goals already this year and I think another five or 10 are within his grasp."

Hayes added: "It's going to take a big team effort to make the play-offs and then we know on our day we can play any of those sides and beat them home or away."

Former Arsenal trainee Birchall scored 11 goals in the Whites' first ever run to the FA Cup third round this season.

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