Not many people are giving us a chance outside Dartford, says Tony Burman

DARTFORD manager Tony Burman says he is relishing the underdog tag for the first time in their FA Carlsberg Trophy campaign this season.



The Kent club were favourites when they brushed aside lower-league Kingstonian, Tonbridge Angels, Bromley and FC Halifax Town enroute to the semi-finals.

They will now face Blue Square Bet (Conference) Premier leaders Grimsby Town over two-legs, starting with the away leg at Blundell Park on Saturday, before an all-ticket affair in front of a passionate Princes Park crowd on 23 February.

The prize? A trip to Wembley Stadium to play either Wrexham or Gainsborough Trinity.

“We’re not mentioning that,” said Burman.

”All we’re looking to do is be in touch when we come away from Grimsby on Saturday.

”You can’t win the two games on Saturday, but you can definitely lose them.

”It’s going to be tough.  On paper not many people are giving us a chance outside of Dartford.

”In Cup games, it doesn’t matter where people are in the league – it’s all on the day.

”In previous games we’ve been favourites to win the games. We’ve done that but it’s been tough. It’s about what happens on the day and that’s how we’ll be treating it.”

Dartford travel north full of confidence after completing the double over giants Luton Town – courtesy of Ryan Hayes’ winner at Princes Park on Tuesday night.

”I’m very pleased, especially after losing on Saturday to Lincoln, which was a disappointing performance so yes it was a good booster for all of us,” said Burman.

”I think it was a decent game. I felt we had the better chances in the first half and we knew Luton would open up a little bit in the second half to try and get the win.  It was a fairly even game and Ryan’s come up with a bit of brilliance to put the ball in the net.”

Hayes has been on the rollercoaster along with Burman, coming up through the leagues in the past six or seven years to where the club is now.

Hayes, who has gone from the Kent League with Slade Green to the Conference Premier with Dartford, left Princes Park on Tuesday night and did his night shift in the meat markets of London where Steve O’Boyle – the joint-manager of Kent Invicta League leaders Phoenix Sports – is his boss at work.

Burman said: “What’s happening is he’s been consistent.  He has done really well and I’m obviously pleased for him.”

But for the part-timers to claim six points and two clean sheets over the former First Division club is a remarkable achievement for Dartford.

”Well I wouldn’t have said we would have done that before the start of the season that’s for sure,” admitted a proud Burman.

”We’ve played them twice and we’ve deserved our wins in both of the games. It’s not the only games in the league but it’s something I don’t think people would have thought would happen.

”It’s (Luton Town) a massive club and they should probably be in the League. They’re finding it tough getting that job done.  Having said that once they’ve settled down a little bit, they’ve got the FA Cup game (at home to Millwall on Saturday) which sometimes does cause a problem but with the weather and everything else they’re behind games but they’ve got a big enough squad to pick up points.”

Dartford travel to Blundell Park on Saturday for the first-leg and Burman has confidence in his side that they can produce another famous victory against former Football League opposition.

Grimsby Town lead the Blue Square Bet (Conference) Premier table, with 58 points from 30 games and are fourteen points clear of the ninth-placed Kent side.

But Burman will drum into his squad that his side twice beat Basingstoke Town in the Blue Square Bet (Conference) South play-off semi-finals before their play-off final home win over Welling United, which confirmed promotion last May.

”The experience of last year has helped all of us, even our preparation for what we will do,” said Burman.

”I think it’s a great experience for us and that will help us in our preparation for the two games against Grimsby.

”They’ll be up for the games against us, like we will against them. It’s a distraction from the league. They’re in a great position. They deserve to be there. They’re a good, organised side.

”We’ve been up there and managed to get a result before and both teams were on highs then.

”It’s a tough place to go but if we can get the best out of our players I know we’ll give Grimsby a decent game.”

Dartford’s traveling supporters will certainly be making plenty of noise in the away end at Blundell Park on Saturday.

And Burman has praised the fans that have watched his side play all over the country this season.

He said: ”They’ve been excellent what they’ve done. I think they’ve enjoyed it like we have. It’s been a roller coaster and to be going to Grimsby and be playing against Luton and Mansfield and to be playing in these stadiums and there’s four thousand fans there is a great feeling.”

But Burman wants everything to play for when they take Grimsby Town back home.

”You can’t win it (on Saturday) but you can lose it. We’ve got to be organised and we’ve got to cause Grimsby some problems, which I’m sure we can do that.”

Burman knows the club may have to go full-time in the future.

”I’m relishing the part-time status but having said that we have to look into the future,” he said.

”If we want to stay in this league and stay in this level we have to think about being a professional club and we have to try to become more professional as we go on.

”It can’t all be done at once but it’s got to be done on a gradual basis to keep in this league.”

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

Grimsby Town  v  Dartford
The FA Carlsberg Trophy Semi-Final First Leg
Saturday 16^th February 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Blundell Park, Harrington Street, Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire DN35 7PY