Josh Hill has revealed Dartford’s professionalism was the key to him rejoining the club he left more than five years ago.

The big Welshman reached the National League South play-off final with Welling last season but is now back in a Darts shirt.

Centre-half Hill was impressed when he met joint-managers Jamie Coyle and Adam Flanagan at Princes Park.

“It’s great to be back,” he said “The club’s improved a lot in the time I’ve been away and they’ve done well in this league over the years. Now with Coylie and Flan in there, it’s a good time to come back in and I’m looking forward to the season.

“The thing which stood out for me was the professionalism when I went down there and they went through everything.

“They’ve got the 3G next to the stadium and the stadium’s impressive for Conference South in itself.

“It’s all the extra little bits you don’t see unless you’re involved in the club like the sports science stuff, the GPS trackers, everything seems to be done properly – and it’s not been done like that at several clubs I’ve been at so it makes a big difference when it is.”

Hill made two appearances for Dartford in Conference Premier during the 2013/14 season but will be fully involved this time around.

He said: “I was just a kid when I was there before. I’d just finished university and hadn’t been in the real world yet.

“I got given the chance by Tony Burman but didn’t make the impact I wanted and ended up leaving for Boreham Wood.

“A lot’s happened in the last five years, including two promotions, which have been major for my experience at this level.”

London-based Hill, who works for the Marie Curie charity, can’t wait to throw himself into another promotion battle.

He said: “National League South seems to be getting harder every year because of the amount of full-time teams either coming into it or turning full-time.

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“There are four or five that train in the mornings so it’s going to even tougher than it was last year but with the quality we have in the dressing room, I’d expect us at least to be getting into the play-offs.”

Hill faces stiff competition for a place at centre-half with Tom Bonner and Ronnie Vint keen to stay in the side.

“It’s healthy,” he said. “Ron was a youngster coming through the academy when I was here first time around and I’ve played against him many times since then. He’s been a consistent player over that time.

“Bonz is a very good player who’s got experience at a higher level so competition is always good and there’s a healthy amount of that in the changing room.”