Dartford boss Steve King is looking forward to an "emotional" day as his team kick-off an impressive line-up of pre-season friendlies this weekend.

The Darts host three first teams from League 1 clubs in the next week, starting with Ipswich (1pm) on Saturday, Gillingham on Tuesday and Charlton on July 17.

Dartford got to play one home friendly last summer in front of fans, but supporters have been locked out of Princes Park since March 2020.

King can't wait for their return - and has lined up a host of excellent games to welcome them back.

"I think it will be quite an emotional day," admitted the Dartford manager. "It's been 16 months since our last league game with fans at home so I know how keen they are to come back, and as a squad and management team we can't wait to play in front of them as well.

"It's going to be great to see them all again. They are going to make such a difference at all levels of football, but especially for us where they are such a big part of the club.

"We've got players that love to play in front of supporters and entertain them, it's a shame someone like Nassim L'Ghoul has signed for a club in France as he would have been a different player with the crowd behind him here. I bet the fans can't wait to be back as well and watch live football again.

"We've put together a good set of pre-season friendlies. We want to bring the fans back together at Princes Park, they can see some quality opposition teams and players, and at the same time it will be a financial boost for the club. It gives us a good start to the campaign and that's important."

It's the best set of home friendlies that Dartford have put together in years.

King is not expecting miracles against seasoned professionals who play their trade in League 1 but he wants his new-look Darts squad to compete.

"We've started off with some really tough games to gauge where we are at," said King.

"We wanted to play higher opposition because a number of players have played at that level before and feel that they can do so again in the future.

"We wanted to get some good fixtures together to bring the fans in.

"Paul Cook at Ipswich is bringing his first team down. They're a club with a fantastic history and there's no doubt they are going to be challenging for the title in their league. They will have their new signings playing against us as well.

"I expect us to compete as a side. They are full-time players that we're up against, all I want is for us to compete, that's more important than the result.

"We'll be looking at different systems in pre-season and different shapes."

King has also reminded his players that the next six weeks will determine who is in their starting line-up for the first National League South game of the campaign on August 14.

He added: "We've got nine games in pre-season, a mixture of home and away, league and non-league teams.

"I've told all the players that the ones that start that first league game on August 14 are the ones who earn it during pre-season games and training. Every player gets a chance to influence the team, either in games or at training.

"We've started training on a Thursday before with one team picked in our heads and then changed it when a player has really stood out.

"They are all capable of turning heads and we know that you never finish the season with the same team that started it, that just never happens."

Dartford's other pre-season home matches are against AFC Wimbledon on July 24, Football League newboys Sutton on July 27 and relegated Southend on July 31.

Adult prices are £10 per game, with a five-match package (minus the Charlton game) costing £35. Junior prices start from £1. All tickets must be purchased in advance, click here for more details.

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