Tony Burman rules himself out of becoming Dartford manager again
Published: 08:25, 09 September 2019
Updated: 08:26, 09 September 2019
Caretaker boss Tony Burman has ruled himself out of returning to the managerial hotseat at Dartford on a permanent basis.
Burman, who stepped down in May 2018 after more than a decade in charge, has taken charge on a short-term basis after the departures of Jamie Coyle and Adam Flanagan.
But he insisted that he has no intention of staying in the role any longer than is necessary as the Darts search for a new boss.
“The long-term is not for me,” stated Burman. “But we don’t know how long the short-term is going to be.
“We’re not under pressure time-wise, we want to interview who we think and make sure we get it right.
“I am happy with what I do at the club in the academy during the daytime and that’s my goal now.
"I’m short-term. What the term of that is I can’t tell you. There’s no rush that we’ve got to do it in two or six weeks.
"What’s most important is that we all agree that the person is the right one for the job.
"They are given their budget and they work to what they want to do.
"I am not one who interferes unless someone asks me to do it."
Dartford sit 20th in National League South, with just seven points and one win in the first 10 games.
Only goal difference keeps them out of the relegation zone and Burman knows it’s a situation that needs to change quickly.
“Obviously we’ve got to get things right and get back to winning games,” he said. “It’s easy to say you’ve made a mistake but it’s on and off the field. It was a tough job for the guys to take over.
“The league table is not lying. We have to be honest and fair.
"We’ve lost too many games and conceded too many goals. It just hasn’t been right. It’s something we need to put right quickly.”
Burman will take charge for this Saturday’s trip to fifth-placed Concord as Dartford start the process of finding a new boss.
The club are not advertising the post but the board will meet on Wednesday to compile their shortlist before carrying out interviews.
“I’ll be there next week,” added Burman. “We’ll go through all the applicants, draw up a shortlist and then start interviewing. However long that takes is how long it takes.
“There’s no pressure, I’ll be the manager until we know who it is going to be. It can’t go on and on (so) that person needs to be in place.”
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Matthew Panting