Dartford’s academy boys are lessening the need for boss Tony Burman to hit the transfer market.

Youngster Richard Seixas made his debut at Wealdstone last weekend and academy striker Michael Habte came off the bench after Burman was unable to seal potential
loan deals.

Burman was delighted with the pair as Dartford won 4-0 and is considering his options again as they wait to see how long Lee Noble will be missing with a foot injury.

Burman said: “If it’s longer than we think, then maybe we do bring someone in but Richard did excellent in that game and has put a case forward.

“We were trying to bring in maybe a couple of people on loan but it didn’t come off. That gave the others a chance.

“They have to go out and enjoy it and Richard and Michael certainly did that on Saturday.

“We had five players on the pitch at the end of the game who have come out of the academy. Some have progressed and some have only just come out.

“Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and put these people on. When you work with the lads in the academy, you get a bit of trust with them and it’s nice for those players to get that experience.”

Alex Brown serves the final game of his suspension this weekend so will miss the visit of Whitehawk but Tom Bonner will be back after illness.

Dartford’s game at Welling United, which was postponed on January 21 due to a frozen pitch, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, February 28 (7.45pm), while Darts will be holding a fans’ forum on Monday, February 6 (7.30pm) in the Park Suite.

Read the full story in Thursday's Dartford Messenger.