Jamie Coyle has praised the Dartford fans and called for more of the same as his side bid to cement themselves in the play-offs.

Darts broke into the National League South top seven on Saturday when they scored late to sink promotion rivals St Albans at Princes Park.

It’s now four matches unbeaten and the atmosphere around the club is building as the run-in approaches.

Joint-manager Coyle said: “In the last two games the fans have got us through.

“I’d like to thank them because Saturday was the loudest they’ve been since I’ve been at the football club.

“I thought they were brilliant and it’s so important – especially when the game’s so flat in the second half.

“You need a spark sometimes, whether it’s a player or the fans behind the goal and they supplied that for us.”

Late winners against Welling and St Albans since the turn of the year have catapulted Dartford right into the promotion shake-up.

Coyle and joint-boss Adam Flanagan are now getting consistent performances from a squad which is knitting together nicely.

“We’ve got a very young team and you have to remind yourself of that at times,” said Coyle.

“It’s always going to be a long-term thing but the boys have put themselves and the club in a great position halfway through the season. There’s no reason we can’t have a better return in the second half.

“The character of this group has never been questioned.

“You’ve got the boys who have been here for a long time – Hayes, Bradbrook, Noble – who understand the ethos of this club and the importance of it all, and the youngsters we’ve brought to the club are now buying into that and it’s brilliant.”

Dartford travel to Chelmsford on Saturday knowing another win would move them above their old rivals.

Coyle said: “They battle, they work hard and we’re going to have to match that as a minimum.

“We had some square pegs in round holes last weekend but we got through a really important game and jumped over St Albans by two points with a game in hand.

“At the end of this month, we’re going to know where we are – whether we’re in a position to push on and cement a place in the play-offs.

“It was so important to start the run of games with a positive result and we’ve done that.”

Lee Noble completes his three-match ban this weekend while Ronnie Vint is a doubt after injuring his knee against St Albans.