Winning the league is my only priority, says Burman

Friday 22nd January 2010

DARTFORD manager Tony Burman says talented midfielder Elliott Bradbrook will begin his comeback from injury against Welling United in the Kent Senior Cup next Tuesday evening, writes Stephen McCartney.

The former Maidstone United star has been ruled out through a lengthy ankle ligament injury and took part in a practice match last weekend and featured in a midweek reserve team game against Chatham.

Burman, who was speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk, revealed Bradbrook will face Welling United in the Kent Senior Cup tie, where he is expected to make numerous changes from the side that faces Carshalton Athletic in the Ryman Premier League at Princes Park tomorrow.

“Elliott has worked very, very hard and we had a little practice match ourselves last Saturday and he came through that ok,” said Burman.

“We wanted to give him 45 minutes in a reserve game on Wednesday night and he came through that and he trained last night.

“We’ve got him pencilled in for the Welling game and all of a sudden his fitness will be back up to scratch.”

Burman added: “We’ve missed him, he was a major part for us up until October (when he got injured). If we can get him back, we’re not going to take any chances, it’s looking pretty good for us.

“It will be like signing a new player, he’s a very, very good player.”

The Darts play their first game since their draw at Cray Wanderers on Saturday, 2nd January, when Carshalton Athletic visit.

The Surrey side arrive at Princes Park in the bottom-six, with a record of six wins and five draws from their 19 league games, but are only nine points adrift of the final play-off spot.

Dartford, on the other hand, are romping away with the title, and are presently eleven points clear of Hastings United.

“We want to get back on track,” said Burman. “It’s our first game for a little while and we need to get back into fifth gear, so looking forward to it very much.

“Carshalton have had a bit of an indifferent season. They’ve changed the manager a few days before we played them and sometimes things just take a little bit of time for teams to settle.

“They’ve got games-in-hand and the same old story in this division. Are you near the bottom? You might be near the bottom but you’re not that many points off the play-off positions. You can’t read into it too much.

“They’ve had a great result on Monday against Worcester in the FA Trophy and they’ve got some excellent players, that’s for sure!”

With such a long break due to the recent wintry weather, Burman hopes his side will not be caught out in the cold fitness wise.

“We tried to do the best we can with their fitness but it’s match fitness that they’ve lost,” said Burman.

“We go into tomorrow’s game a bit cautious to see how the fitness is. I don’t know until you have a proper game so hopefully it will be ok.

With former Dartford midfielder Jamie Day bringing his Welling United side to Princes Park for the very first time, Burman explained why he is going to make changes for Tuesday night’s clash.

“Unfortunately with all the postponements in the league and the games will be coming fast and furious, we need to stay focused in our main aim this year,” explained the boss.

“I want to get promoted, the players want to get promoted and the club wants to be promoted and we don’t want to be distracted.

“The Kent Senior Cup is a competition we’d like to go all the way in but it also gives us a chance to play players who are on the bench on Saturday and we’ve got to work and be sensible with what we do.

“Unfortunately because of the ambition what we’ve got the cup competitions give us a chance to play some players who need to play in real competitive football. I’m going to have five or six, seven players if you include Elliott Bradbrook, who may not play on Saturday but they need competitive games.

“They will play and I don’t think, with the players I’m saying are going to play, we’re not going to belittle any competition at all.

“Our priorities are to get promoted this year. Unfortunately with the amount of games coming up, if people aren’t happy with that, it’s just unfortunate.”

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

Dartford v Carshalton Athletic

Ryman Premier League

Saturday 23rd January 2010

Kick Off 3:00pm

At Princes Park Stadium, Grassbanks, Darenth Road, Dartford, Kent DA1 1RT