Adam Birchall has vowed to restore his reputation as a predatory goalscorer during his five-month loan spell with Dartford.

The 28-year-old had his blossoming career savagely stalled by injury in July 2011, days after a dream move from Dover to Gillingham.

Birchall missed all of the 2011-12 season and had to wait more than a year for his Gills debut. Last season the former Arsenal trainee turned out 19 times for Martin Allen’s side but he was transfer-listed following the Gills’ promotion to League 1.

However, the centre-forward is no longer for sale and he has until January 2 to impress and prove he is the same player who scored a record-breaking 45 goals for Dover in 2010-11.

He said: “When you’re not pushing the boundaries of what you can do, people forget quite quickly. After the journey I’ve been on for the last couple of years, I want to play football and show everyone what I can do."

He added: “I’ve worked my socks off for a year to get to this point and I’m lucky to have been given a chance by Dartford. Now I’ve got to take it.”

Full story in this week's Dartford Messenger.