Dartford boss Tony Burman has urged his squad to play smarter.

The Darts lost their unbeaten National League South record at home to East Thurrock on Monday.

It left Burman reminding his players not to shoot themselves in the foot.

“We’ve got to be a lot more intelligent than what we were in the game,” said Burman.

“Our play in the first half was disappointing. There was a lot of work-rate but no intelligence on the ball, to put it bluntly. As a spectacle, I thought it was poor.

“We’ve been good at set pieces. You ask people to put balls in the right place because it works and then they decide to put balls into different places.

“It’s a lack of thought and I’m sure it was a bit of tiredness.

“It needed a bit more intelligence, it came out in spells in the second half but it wasn’t enough for us.”

Burman was angered by the goal Dartford conceded against East Thurrock – losing the ball cheaply and then giving away a needless free-kick.

He added: “I’m disappointed because of the build-up to their goal. We lost the ball on the halfway line too cheaply and then we gave a foul away – and from that free-kick they’ve scored.

“If the ball is played up to someone on the halfway line, we shouldn’t be losing it and shouting out for a foul. We should be stronger.

"It’s been an eventful August and to finish it on a loss is disappointing but we have to learn a lesson and move on.”

Read the full story in Thursday's Dartford Messenger