Ady Pennock insists Dartford are a small club in comparison to some of their promotion rivals.

The fourth-placed Darts, relegated from National League South last term, look to have a good chance of bouncing back to Step 2 football at the first attempt, having extended their unbeaten Isthmian Premier run to 14 games with a 2-0 derby victory at Chatham on New Year’s Day.

It was a result which leaves them four points behind leaders Dover.

But manager Pennock said: “We’re a small club.

“Okay, facility-wise, we’re a big club - but behind the scenes, we’re a small club, compared to others in Kent and some of the others in the league.

“We are a small club and people maybe don’t realise that. But what we are doing is we’re building.

“We’re building for the future and we have got some good players.

Report: Chatham 0-2 Dartford

“But this is a very competitive league so we just need to make sure we enjoy our wins.”

Any kind of promotion push looked unlikely when Dartford went down 3-2 against Wingate & Finchley in October.

They haven’t lost in the league since, though, drawing five games and winning the other nine, including six of their past seven matches in a remarkable turnaround.

“We’re not shouting from the rooftops or anything like that,” said Pennock.

“We’re just trying to go along quietly and we will see where it takes us, come the end of the season.”

After a goalless first period in front of a crowd of more than 3,000, Chats centre-back Reece Butler diverted young defender George Whitefield’s cross into his own net before substitute Eddie Dsane doubled the Darts’ lead.

Pennock reflected: “It was an excellent win and I thought it was thoroughly deserved.

“This is a very difficult place to come. They’re a very good side and they have got some very good players, and a big squad. They don’t lose many games here.

“But with our supporters behind us, we have come here and I thought we have done a very good job.

“It’s three points and, now, we move on and look forward to Saturday.”

It is also three clean sheets in four games for Pennock’s team.

“We work as a team on that,” noted the 53-year-old former Gillingham boss. “It’s not just on Jacob and the back four or five - or whatever you want to call them these days - we defend from the front.

“The forward players work very hard and the midfield boys do, as well.

“If you get clean sheets, as I’ve said all along, we will score goals because we create so many chances. We do score a lot of goals because we have a lot of players in the team that can score goals.

“If you’re keeping clean sheets and nicking a 1-0 or a 2-0 win, that’s great.”

Dartford goalkeeper Jacob Marsden didn’t have a great deal to do to earn his latest shut-out - except making an early save to thwart home striker Rowan Liburd.

Pennock revealed: “I said to him at half-time that the first save in the first five minutes was so important.

“It was a great volley. He connected really well with it.

“It was a very important time in the game where Jacob’s concentration was good.

“He’s made a very good stop.”

Academy product Whitefield’s assist came shortly before the hour after he had been kept on despite being the first player in referee Simon Cutler’s book during an uneventful first period.

Pennock said: “He showed that he’s maturing. He deserves a lot of credit for that.

“Sam Okoye has come back from injury, as well, which is good because he got a nasty injury at Folkestone.

“I thought the substitutions worked today. We were pleased about that.”

Dsane’s game-clinching goal was his eighth of the season, having also netted in the Darts’ 3-1 home victory against Chatham earlier in the campaign, too.

“He’s a natural goalscorer,” admitted Pennock. “We were very fortunate to get Eddie in.

“He’s had a shoulder injury, which kept him out for four or five weeks, but Olly [Box] has come in and Callum [Jones] has come in. Duane [Ofori-Acheampong] is involved now.

“We have got players that can score goals and our bench is looking stronger so that’s really good.”

There was a healthy away contingent among Chatham’s record crowd of 3,006 at the Bauvill Stadium.

“Home and away, we travel really well,” said Pennock. “It was nice to start the new year with a win for those supporters because they have been very good.

“It’s been very tough over the past few years.”

For the Darts, it was a sixth league match inside an 18-day spell, including a first since last weekend’s 1-0 win at Canvey Island - just two days after a 2-1 victory over Cray Wanderers on Boxing Day.

Pennock said: “Let’s give Chatham some credit, as well, because - for some reason - we’ve all had to play two games in three days.

“The league has got to look at that. I think we were the only league in the whole country that did it!

“Then, we’ve come here and played on astro-turf, which takes a lot out of your legs. But it’s the same for both teams so we didn’t moan too much.

“We’ve just got on with it.”

Next up for Dartford is a home game against relegation-threatened Whitehawk, whose New Year’s Day encounter at home to Lewes was abandoned at half-time due to a waterlogged pitch.

“Every game we play is tough,” said Pennock.

“Whitehawk are not going to turn up and just roll over for us. It’s going to be very difficult.

“We have got some niggles so we’ll have to see where we are with them and go from there.”