Tony Burman believes his young summer signings could herald the beginning of a bright new era at Dartford Football Club.

Darts this week signed 23-year-old left-back Danny Fitzsimons and 20-year-old centre-half Tom Gardiner as their fourth and fifth additions of the close-season.

Callum McNaughton, 23, George Sykes, 20, and Jack Simmons, 20, have already penned deals at Princes Park while academy graduates Ronie Vint, Kaka Dembele and Ebou Adams are stepping up to the first-team squad.

It’s all part of the rebuilding process as Burman looks to guide the club back to the Vanarama National League after three seasons at non-league’s top table.

He said: "We’ve got some well-established players, the core of the side, but I wanted to freshen it up a little bit and we’ve done it with younger players.

"There have been some good players moving from club to club (this summer) but unfortunately we weren’t close to getting some of them.

"This season is going to be tough and expectations will still be high, but we are having to plan a vision for the next few years.

"Football is like that. With the academy, we’re not quite there with the production line just at the moment although dropping down a league brings the academy boys a bit closer to first-team football.

“It’s something that will happen. The production line is starting and there will be a new generation of players."

Read the full story in the Dartford Messenger.