MATTY Holmes wants former club Dorchester Town to avoid relegation from Southern League South – but not until after his Wimborne Town side have inflicted more misery upon them.

Holmes concluded his playing days at Dorchester after being forced to call time on his professional career due to injury.

The former Cherries and West Ham midfielder spent four seasons at the Avenue Stadium and helped to secure the Southern League Eastern Division title in 2002-03.

Relegation battlers Wimborne will on Saturday hope to plunge hosts Dorch further into the mire with a second away win on the spin (3pm).

Holmes says his team need to build their form on the road following an away triumph at Poole Town on Boxing Day.

He told the Daily Echo: “I know people at Dorchester and they are in and around the bottom areas. You want them to stay up but we have to get the three points.

“We have to use the performance against Poole as a springboard and believe we can see out games away from home.

“But Dorchester will be a decent side. They play some good football, so it should be an interesting match."

At the halfway stage of their debut season at step three, Wimborne sit two points above the drop zone in 18th. One point separates the Cuthbury outfit and 19th-place Dorchester.

The clash could also see Luke Holmes, Matty Oldring, Franklyn Clarke and Toby Holmes feature at their former stomping ground.

Luke Holmes spent a season at Dorchester before father Matty brought him back to Wimborne in June 2016. Toby Holmes made the same switch at the end of the 2015-16 season.

Oldring and Clarke left Dorchester in March 2017 after becoming established players at the Avenue. The former came straight to Cuthbury while Clarke joined Salisbury.

“I don’t know whether the players will have a point to prove," said boss Holmes. "Some of them left on good terms but it is another derby game where we are desperate for the points.

“You cannot rely on winning games at home. You are not going to win all your home games so you have to go away and nick points.

“That is what we did at Poole and to survive we have to get a certain amount of points away from home."

This season is Dorchester's first full campaign with a 3G pitch.

Manager Holmes confessed the former surface had been a challenge during his time at the club.

"The pitch got hammered because they had to hire it out but there are lovely people there and it’s a really good club," he said.

“Dorchester have always sort of been in Weymouth’s shadow but with their 3G pitch they have a way of playing and it’s a nice style.

“They can, hopefully, build on that and try to become a good Southern League team."