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Dartford are optimistic Elliot Bradbrook will change his mind and carry on playing next season.
The Darts captain felt he'd played his last game for the club after defeat to Braintree in the National League South play-offs.
But conversations with new joint-managers Adam Flanagan and Jamie Coyle may have opened the door for a new deal.
Flanagan said: "We're still in discussions with Elliot. He had written playing off but we're slowly trying to convince him to come back.
"We're not sure in what remit at the moment, if he can fully commit, but we're speaking to him and that might be something that comes out later this week. We're optimistic.
"We're still not there yet and that's why we've not announced anything but we're slowly getting closer."
Bradbrook has made 411 appearances for Dartford over the last nine seasons, scoring 133 goals.
Flanagan said: "Elliot played a lot of games last year (49) and people were saying his legs had gone a little bit but I felt that was unfair.
"We want to take a new approach with him, to manage him differently and I think that's spurred a little bit of interest.
"We're hopeful we can maybe get something done this week but we're not there yet.
"It's not definite that he's coming back but we're optimistic we can get to a place where both him and the club will be happy."