Tony Burman has backed Jamie Coyle and Adam Flanagan to learn from their mistakes and be successful managers at Dartford.

Burman, speaking on the KM Football Podcast this week, has worked closely with his successors since their appointment last summer.

Coyle and Flanagan both played for Burman during his 13 years in the dugout and now he looks after their playing budget.

The pair came in for criticism earlier in the season but Burman is confident they will find a winning formula.

He said: "I don't want to blow my own trumpet but they've got a hard act to follow. We'd been there a long time and I felt it was time for change to have new enthusiasm come into the club.

"I do have an input but it's more that they've got to want to come to me and say 'what do you think we should do?'

"I oversee the budgets for a lot of the club and one of them is the budget for the two lads to spend in the right way. That's always been my job, to keep things on track.

"I don't say 'you've got to sign this player or that player'. They might ask what I think of a player and what they pay that guy is up to them to a certain extent. If we decide on a contract or registration, that side of things, I work closely with them but it's more behind the scenes rather than in their faces.

"They might have made a few mistakes, which they're going to do. They're going to learn throughout their careers and handle situations a bit better but they've not doing badly after being involved with the club for six months.

"I'm pleased with what they've done, Yes, there's been a turnover of players but it's going to happen until they get their ideas over. I'll back them all the way."

Burman, who remains involved with Dartford's academy, is now the club's managing director and also acts as director of football.

He said: "You can have a lot of money but one of the hardest things I found is trying to get the squad together.

"You might not have the best players but if you can get them working together as a group, it makes a big difference and earns you a lot of points over the course of the season.

"I think that's one of my strengths and I hope it's going to be one of theirs when things do settle down.

"The two guys have been with me in the changing-room so they know what I'm about. You can't just be a coach.

"When you go on the coaching courses, they don't tell you about all these other things that you get involved with whether it's directors, chairmen or supporters. It comes with a little bit of experience.

"I've always tried to be honest with people and tell them what I think, to see if they want to improve."

Burman insists there's no pressure on Coyle and Flanagan to qualify for the national League South play-offs this season.

He said: "It's a settling-down period and I've asked the to concentrate purely on the football side of things and not worry about what else goes on at the club. That takes care of itself at this moment in time.

"If we're in the top five by the end of February, middle of March, we've got a real chance to have our say.

"They've got some tough games coming up and football can change so quickly.

"If we can get some good results in the next six weeks and keep ourselves tucked in there, anything can happen.

"I'd love them to be in the play-offs, I'd love the club to have an opportunity of getting promoted and it looks like they're going to attack it from a different way by going full-time.

"Ideally, that's what we want but do I want to put that pressure on them? No, I don't.

"It's going to be tough enough in the coming seasons for them to have the pressure of not just getting in the play-offs but to win the league.

"Make no mistake, we want to go back up. We know we've got to change the way the club is run but if they're in the play-offs at the end of the season, good luck to them and well done."