MANAGER Tommy Sampson has quit Dartford to give his successor a fighting chance to save the club from relegation back to the Kent League.

Sampson, a long-serving Dartford vice-president, said he was deeply disappointed to have left what he called his "dream job" but felt it would be best in the long run for the club.

Sampson was immediately replaced by director Tony Burman who takes charge in a caretaker capacity for Saturday’s home game against Wivenhoe.

He is likely to remain in the job until the season’s end. The former Charlton striker, who recently joined the board, is no stranger to the role having twice managed the club before.

Sampson’s decision stunned directors who believed he was the man capable of leading the club back to the borough to play in a new purpose-built stadium in May next year.

He had been in charge since succeeding Gary Julians in December, 2001.