New Dartford boss Steve King will be in the Dartford dug out at Princes Park for the very first time this weekend with the golden carrot of a place in the First Round of the FA Cup the prize as the Darts prepare to face Kingstonian.

After beating Horsham and Blackfield & Langley already, the new Darts boss at least knows a lot about their opponents this weekend as Dartford look to make the First Round for the sixth time in the past decade!

In his first interview with KSN since being appointed, the new boss told us, ”It’s going to be a tough game – we know what the FA Cup is all about – people raise their game as everyone wants to get to the First Round Proper and see what can go from there!”

“Saturday is a different task to the League as everyone wants to get to the First Round – it’s almost like a £50,000 game – almost £20,000 for the winners and then you’ve got the gate receipts and then you’ve got the next possible game and if you lose that one and on and on.”

“It works out between a forty and fifty grand game – so that can always help a Non-League club – and I love the FA Cup. I’ve got a very, very good record in the FA Cup going through different rounds and different stages with different clubs and it’s a competition that I love dearly.”

On his appointment, the new boss told us, “I’m very pleased to get the job and that I’ve been chosen to take the club forward. I’m enthusiastic and believe that Dartford should be in the National League minimum and that’s my job over the term to try and make that happen!”

“I saw a couple of games after Tony (Burman) came back in charge and Tony and Paul (Sawyer) did ever so well for the six games that they were in charge.”

“You expect Dartford to be at the top end of the division given the facilities, the stadium, the crowd, everything, you expect them to be challenging the Play Off positions, so obviously where they are is a place they don’t want to be.”

“I’ve said to the players that if they perform and I can get that bit more out of them, then there won’t be need to change too many things. But if they don’t perform and they don’t play how I set them up to play, obviously I have to make changes.”

“At the end of the day, I need to get the best players for Dartford, and we need to try and climb out of the position that we’re in and take the club on from there. So, if it means changes then I’m not afraid to do that; if it doesn’t, it won’t, but every manager who goes into a new club will make change obviously and that’s what I will try and do shortly.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s tie with Kingstonian, we asked what King knew about his opponents. “Nearly everything!” he admitted.

“I know all their players, I know their manager, I know their Chairman. I’ve seen them several times and they’re basically Merstham’s team from last year that got into the Play Offs and nearly ended up in the Conference South this year. It’s going to be a tough game – they try to pass the ball; they’re not route one, they try to pass the ball so it will be an interesting game.”

“We’ve four players missing for the game all of who would have had a good chance of starting in the team – true first team regulars – but what I would say to the Dartford fans is to ask them to be patient.”

“It will change – one hundred percent it will change. I haven’t got a magic wand – it’s not going to change overnight or one or two games or three or four games. It’s a period of time; we have to secure our status and try to push up if we can.”

“I’m not going to make promises this year that I’m going to do this and do that – I’ll certainly make them next year that we will be there or thereabouts and that’s the only promise that I’ll make that we will be, next year better than this year by a country mile and I’ll stick to that promise!”