Dartford dropped points once again on Saturday, as they drew at home to fellow relegation battlers Taunton Town. Despite the result, Tony Burman shared his thoughts on the game when speaking to Kent Sports News, and why it can be seen as a positive performance.

“It’s a draw but I thought we did well enough, Taunton put a lot of people behind the ball and tried to catch us on the break, and we had to try and up our tempo in the way we played. It worked in spells but not in other parts of the game, but having said that I think we did okay.”

The first half of the game was certainly filled with controversy. It came to its boiling point with a brawl in front of the visitors’ dugout, followed swiftly by two penalty calls, of which only one was called in favour of Taunton. Burman gave his verdict on both incidents:

“I think it’s one of them things where two lads are challenging for the ball going towards the dugout and someone inevitably ends up on the floor. I don’t think there was any malice in it, but I think it could’ve been stopped because there was a foul on our player before and the referee hasn’t blown. I’ve got no issues on that part of it.”

“I think they were both penalties, I think our one should have been called and they should not have even got to there, so we should have had a penalty. If the referee looks at it, he would say that he’s got it wrong, but I’m not having a go. They make mistakes and you have to live with it.”

After an exodus of strikers at the Club in recent weeks, Burman has recruited Elliott Romain and Ibby Akanbi on one-month loans. Here’s what the interim had to say about the deals, and what he hopes to extract from them:

“We needed more fire power up front, they’ve come in for a month and we’re looking to help both clubs in each situation. I’m sure they can help us, they’re good, experienced players. Romain works his socks off and I want that attitude to rub off on a lot of the players we’ve got in the squad.”

One subject for speculation in recent days has been the rumoured interest in promising youngster Olly Box. According to HITC Football, a number of Premier League and London clubs, including West

Ham and Crystal Palace, have shown an interest in Box. When asked if he could shed any light on the rumours, he said: “No!”, but revealed his delight for the academy prospect.

“If they are, great. He’s got a lot to learn, and he’s done ever so well. I’m really, really pleased with him, believe you me. I wanted to play with two lads up front to get a 4-4-2. Unfortunately, I had to make that decision. It was tough to leave him out but having said that he’s got to learn those things as well and we’ve got to go with what’s best for today’s game.”

The Darts have been plagued by injuries for most of the season, but they could see some players returning very soon. Brandon Barzey and Luke Allen joined the team to do some on-field work before the game, and Tommy Block was also in attendance. Burman provided an update on their fitness:

“Brandon might be available for Tuesday, but I desperately do not want to push him back too early for something to happen again. Luke Allen, maybe another week, but again, if you push them back too early, we might regret it. Blocky is the same as well. It’s looking like we’ll be stronger in depth, the bench was strong today.”