By Luke Cawdell

Dartford kick off their new season with a long trek to Weston-super-Mare on Saturday but it is a journey boss Tony Burman is relishing.

The Darts have been in pre-season action since early July and Burman, who embarks on his sixth successive season at the helm, can’t wait to get going.

Burman (pictured) said: "Bring it on. Pre-season is done and the real thing starts on Saturday. We’ve got points to play for and there is some meaning to it. Hopefully we can come back with something."

The Darts finished 10th last season and have been steadily progressing in recent years. Burman hopes they can move forward once more. "We aim to improve every year," he said.

"We want to finish inside the top 10 again for sure. By April, ideally, we want to be challenging for those play-off positions. We are capable of it and anything else is a bonus."

The Darts will be without striker Pallen as he hobbled off at the weekend, just days after recovering from another injury.

Burman added: "It wasn’t the same leg that he had a problem before with a hamstring.

"The guy now has a hamstring injury in the other leg."

It could see Burman adding an extra face to the squad before the weekend as cover.

He said: "I am not desperate for someone to come in but it would be nice to take the squad back up to 18."

Lee Noble is expected to be back after being absent at the weekend through illness, while Burns misses with a one-game suspension.