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Dartford joint-manager Adam Flanagan reacts to 3-0 home defeat by Wealdstone

Dartford joint-manager Adam Flanagan has vowed to make changes to his squad after Saturday's 3-0 home defeat to Wealdstone.

Flanagan revealed that two new faces will be training with the Darts squad on Monday evening after they were failed to score for a third National League South game in a row.

"We feel we might have to make changes already," said Flanagan. "We were trying to put that off thinking we might get a display and if we'd won we would have been in front of where the club were this time last year after five games.

Dartford are stopped in their tracks by Wealdstone on Saturday. Picture: Andy Payton
Dartford are stopped in their tracks by Wealdstone on Saturday. Picture: Andy Payton

"But that's not happened and I feel in some (ways) we were quite fortunate to get away with 3-0 because they had some good opportunities and Deren (Ibrahim) has made some great saves, especially in the first half.

"It was very disappointing performance by the players, our expectations were a lot higher. I don't want to be too brutal but it was probably the poorest performance I've seen from a Dartford side.

"(joint-boss) Jamie Coyle and I wanted to give the group we had a bit of trust and that the results would come around. It was a lacklustre performance and the good traits that all the good Dartford sides have had weren't there at all. It was a really poor day at the office."

Dartford changed their system to 4-4-2 in a bid to offer striker Delano Sam-Yorke more assistance in attack.

"We changed the shape as we wanted to offer more going forward, we felt Delano had been isolated a little bit," added Flanagan.

"That's why the system reverted back to 4-4-2 which we (mainly) played in pre-season but against the team that played the same formation we weren't as good as them.

"That raises alarm bells and Wealdstone were well worth their win. Thankfully there's no midweek game and we can have a week off to get things improved."

Delano Sam-Yorke puts his foot in for Dartford against Wealdstone Picture: Andy Payton
Delano Sam-Yorke puts his foot in for Dartford against Wealdstone Picture: Andy Payton

With former captain Elliot Bradbrook ruled out by illness and Lee Noble still sidelined by a knee injury, Dartford were overrun in midfield as summer recruits Billy Roast and Chez Isaac still get used to their new surroundings.

While admitting the duo were below par, Flanagan pointed the finger at all of his team.

"Chez has a lot of National League experience and I don't think we've got to see the best out of him yet," he said.

"Billy Roast is looking to transition from centre-back into midfield. There were some positive areas of his play but generally I felt that was a weak area of the pitch. They were quite strong and well organised in there and we didn't compete.

"I'm not just putting it on them two as well. The first goal was a really poor goal to give away, the second goal there were three phases from that corner before the ball's gone in and we've lost all of them.

"I want to put it to the whole team more than anything as they're all accountable from the forwards all the way back to Deren. It was not good enough."

Read the match report from Dartford's 3-0 home defeat to Wealdstone here

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