I don't want it to start falling apart, says Dartford boss Tony Burman

DARTFORD boss Tony Burman says he does not want his side’s excellent season to fall apart.



Burman, who clinched three promotions during the past six years, to reach the Blue Square Bet (Conference) Premier, guided his side to the semi-finals of The FA Carlsberg Trophy after beating Kingstonian, Tonbridge Angels, Bromley and FC Halifax Town – all lower league clubs – but they found Grimsby Town a tough nut to crack.

Burman admitted the damage was done in eight minutes of madness at the end of the first leg at Blundell Park, when goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli gifted Craig Disley’s his second in the 85^th minute, before Andy Cook scored a third within two minutes, before midfielder Lee Noble picked up a four-match suspension (after losing an appeal that cost the club £100) for an alleged stamp on Grimsby left-back Aswad Thomas.

That proved to be a mountain to climb as brave Dartford kept going during the home leg, but they couldn’t get the break that they desperately needed and played out a goal-less draw at Princes Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Marriners will meet Welsh giants Wrexham underneath the Wembley Arch in Final on Sunday, 24 March.

Dartford last played there in the 1974 Final when they went down to a 2-1 defeat to Morecambe – and have reached the semi-finals on three previous occasions, but fell to Bishop’s Stortford (1981), Burton Albion (1987) and Macclesfield Town two years’ later.

But what Burman has achieved at Princes Park this season has mirrored League Two club Bradford’s City’s fairytale to reach the Capital One (Football League) Cup Final – unfortunately that also ended in heartbreak as Premier League Swansea City broke their dream by winning 5-0 at Wembley Stadium yesterday.

How many Dartford fans would have thought at the beginning of the season that their side would get so close to Wembley and be in the top ten in the top flight of non-league football?

Now that the dream is over, the challenge for Burman and his side is to not let all their hard work go to waste.

The Darts are 12 points from fifth-placed Forest Green Rovers or on the other side of the coin are ten points clear of the relegation zone.

Dartford have a week off before making the journey to Southport next Saturday – leaving Princes Park at eight o’clock in the morning.

”It’s another long journey, that’s what we’ve been doing,” said Burman, as he prepares for yet another long journey on the coach.

”It’s a tough game and we need to start getting some points on the table.

”We’ve got to go out in a nice, positive fashion, which I’m sure the players will do.

”They’re down (after losing the semi-final), but they’ll be built up again by next Saturday.”

It’s a grueling period for the Darts. After their trip to Southport, they welcome Stockport County to Princes Park on Tuesday, 5 March, before meeting Wrexham at home in front of the TV cameras on the Friday night.

”It’s a tough week, a tough, tough week,” anticipated Burman.

”We can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves. It’s getting back into it again. I’m delighted with what we’ve done this season so far but we do still need to get some points and don’t get caught up in anything with five or six games to go.”

Part-timers Dartford have collected 44 points so far, beating some massive former Football League club’s along the way, including completing the double over giants Luton Town, and have fifteen games left to play to ensure that they can have another go at them next season.

Burman added: “It’s been enjoyable at this moment in time. I don’t want it to start falling apart.  We’ve got a long way to go and we have to work hard to get a few more points on the table.

”The players’ are down at the moment, but the supporters’ will lift us.  We’ve got no doubt about that because they respect what we’ve achieved and I think they’ve enjoyed seeing a team like this giving their all.

Burman revealed that he has funds available to strengthen his squad because you can’t run at this level with such a tiny squad.

”Yes, we can bring in loan players, we’ve got no problem about bringing in the players, it’s whether I can bring in the ones that I want,” he said.

”I will be looking to do that simply because of the number of games that we’ve got next week.  We’ve got Saturday, Tuesday, Friday and for us part-time guys it’s very difficult to get the rest in between what they need to have.  That’s why I need to get in some players, which we’ve always tried to do.”

Visit Dartford’s websites: www.dartfordfconline.co.uk  & www.dartfordfootballclub.com  

Southport  v  Dartford
Blue Square Bet Premier
Saturday 2^nd March 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Haig Avenue, Southport, Merseyside PR8 6JZ