Caretaker Dartford manager Tony Burman explains why striker Harvey Bradbury was sold to Farnborough and doesn’t expect mass squad exodus
Published: 05:00, 18 January 2024
Caretaker boss Tony Burman doesn’t anticipate a mass exodus from Dartford after Harvey Bradbury’s exit.
Striker Bradbury was sold to National League South rivals Farnborough after scoring only five league goals for the Darts this season.
Sacked Dartford boss Alan Dowson played a major role in persuading Bradbury to join the Darts in the summer after a successful loan spell at the end of last season.
With the striker living on the south coast, it is no great surprise that he had joined a club closer to home.
“I had a chat with Harvey last Thursday,” explained Burman.
“He lives in Portsmouth and the travelling that he was doing was getting to him, which happens, especially during the winter months when players are travelling all the way up in the dark and all the way home. I think he did well for us and he’s a good lad.
“Farnborough approached us on Monday and with the circumstances that Harvey told me it seemed to be not a bad thing to do.
“We did the deal with Farnborough and wish him all the very best, it happens in football.
“But it was nothing to do with the football club, with the travelling and work it was more a case of going to club a little bit nearer home.
“They paid a fee which helped the deal go through. We’re not talking fortunes but there was a fee there.
“I’m not expecting other players to leave. I’ve had a good chat with them and there’s no full-scale changes planned.
“The players have been very close to getting a lot more points and I’ll just give them a little bit of guidance myself.
“I’ve said we’ll be staying together as a group, hopefully some of the guys who have unfortunately not been available due to injury can come back in and make us a bit stronger as a squad.
“I’m not looking to take people out, we’ve got to get on with it. There isn’t a lot of improvement required, they just need that bit of confidence back.”
Burman will be assisted in the dugout by Craig Belgrave, who was assistant manager to Steve King during his tenure at Princes Park.
After a wasted trip on Tuesday night when Dartford’s clash at Truro was postponed just over an hour before kick-off, their first game in temporary charge will be at Bath this Saturday.
“He's a good coach, I’ve spoken to him as friends for a long time and he’s been to some of our games,” explained Burman.
“Since everything happened last Thursday, Craig has taken two good sessions and I’m pleased that I’m working with him.
“We’ll have a training session again on Thursday and then hopefully the weather’s okay and the game is on.
“We just want to try our best, work hard and maybe change that little bit of misfortune that we’ve been having. We’ve been very close to being a good outfit.”
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Matthew Panting