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Dartford boss Tony Burman believes his side are one of five involved in the battle for survival in Skrill Premier

Tony Burman Picture: Keith Gillard
Tony Burman Picture: Keith Gillard

Dartford boss Tony Burman believes a mini-league has formed in the battle to avoid relegation from Skrill Premier.

Tuesday's 2-1 win at Kidderminster moved the Darts to within two points of Tamworth although they're still six points from safety.

But with Southport, Chester and Aldershot - the three teams immediately above Tamworth - separated by just two points, the relegation scrap is becoming increasingly tight.

Burman said: "There’s a league starting and there are five teams in it. We’re fifth at the moment but we’ve got to see what happens in our next 17 games. There’s no point talking about anything else."

Dartford host second-placed Cambridge United on Saturday, looking for their first home win since October.

Burman said: "The atmosphere will be better now that we go into that game on the back of a win. But we’ve got Cambridge, Luton, Aldershot and Wrexham (coming up) and they’re all big games.

"We won on Tuesday, it’s a massive boost for us and we’ll see what happens on Saturday. We can’t look any further than that. It would help if we could get something on Saturday, whether that’s one point or three.

"We’ve got a couple of days to enjoy the win but then we move onto Cambridge, which is going to be a tough game."

Burman praised Alex Wall's debut display at Kidderminster after signing the striker on loan from Luton Town.

Wall's arrival signalled the return of club-mate Dave Martin to Kenilworth Road after a two-month spell with the Darts. Luton loanee Jim Stevenson has another week left on his Darts deal and clubs aren't allowed more than two loan players from the same club at any one time.

Dave Martin in action during his second spell at Dartford
Dave Martin in action during his second spell at Dartford

Burman said: "Alex is a big lad, a big centre-forward and he’s got lots of potential. He’s a big target-man we can try to hit. He hadn’t met the players at all before the (Kidderminster) game and that’s difficult for players to come in and do that. But he did well.

"Dave’s loan finished on Saturday and he’s gone back to Luton. I wanted to bring Alex in and you’re not allowed three players (on loan) from the same club.

But could Martin return? "You never say never. There could be another short-term loan for a month if both clubs wished or a long-term loan. That would have to be sorted before the (transfer) deadline. We’ll see what happens."

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