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Steve King believes he’ll have to fulfil his Football League dream by winning promotion.
The Dartford boss has won three league titles and produced six additional top-six finishes during his time in management.
But he’s yet to be offered the chance in the big time, and says he’ll have to get there by himself.
Talking on this week’s KM Football Podcast, King said: “People have said how am I not in the Football League with what I’ve done in non-league – you’ve done all you can at the levels you’re in.
“I’ve said I’d probably have to take a team in there now to be able to manage (in the Football League).
“That’s the burning thing inside me now. No, I haven’t been given that opportunity and a lot of other people have.
“I’m a person that thinks you have to earn that opportunity. I was cutting my teeth low down, I was earning next to nothing and it was costing me to do a job.
“Over the years you build enough credit to go, you deserve an opportunity. There’s people that get those jobs that haven’t deserved an opportunity. It’s a merry go round, isn’t it. They seem to do poorly in a job and then jump on another job.
“I think I may have to take a team in there to fulfil what I feel is my ambition to go on.”
King would love an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley, who took Lincoln from the National League to League 1 before moving up another level to the Championship club.
“I look back at what Danny Cowley has done and I used to talk to him when he was on the touchline at Concord,” added King.
“He got given the chance and what he’s done is absolutely take it with both hands. He has done unbelievable to go from Concord to Braintree to Lincoln, and now what he’s doing at Huddersfield.
“There’s people out there that can do that but what he’s done is get the chance and then grab it.”
When asked if Dartford had the potential to be a Football League club, King replied: “As a club, the stadium and everything, then there is the potential.
“I think there’s a lot of stuff that needs to go in the background but that can grow.
“If we were lucky enough to get promoted to the National League then having been in it before the clubs know what they need to do to make that change.
“You need an infrastructure, you can’t just wing it when you go into those levels. You have to have things in place.
“Has Dartford got the potential? 100% it has. But there are stages that we need to go through.
“We’ve got this season (first) where we need to keep doing what we’re doing and keep pushing. I know that we will get to where we need to as a group.
“By the start of next season, we will be 100% pushing for the championship. I’m not saying we’re going to win it but we’ll certainly be pushing for it.”
