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Arsenal and West Ham United to send teams to face Dartford in pre-season

08:00, 14 June 2012

Tony Burman
Tony Burman

Dartford have lined up an impressive pre-season in a bid to prepare them for a season of hard graft in the Blue Square Bet Premier.

Teams from Arsenal and West Ham will headline the summer schedule as boss Tony Burman looks to get his team in tip-top shape.

With the majority of non-league’s top flight operating on a full-time basis, Burman is hoping a rigorous pre-season will at least see his part-timers start on an even footing.

Burman (pictured) said: "I’m pleased we’ve got these games arranged and it’s going to be a tough few days where we are going to be upping the fitness. It will be good for us.

"We are a fit side anyway but we’ll have to be moving it up a gear in the Premier and that is something we are looking at closely. We aren’t able to have the players five days a week like some teams but we will do our best to make sure they are ready.

"We are at a disadvantage compared to the full-time sides. We have a lot to think about and we’ll do what we can.

"When we play the pro sides, we’re not looking to beat them but what we get from 45 minutes against them is like 90 minutes against other sides because of the work-rate from them."

Arsenal will be sending a side to Princes Park under the guidance of academy director Liam Brady on Wednesday, August 1. It will end a tough 10-day spell for the Darts after games against Gillingham (July 21), West Ham XI (July 24) and Southend (July 28).

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