Dartford’s survival bid heads north this weekend with manager Tony Burman still fuming about the red card which cost his side three points in midweek.

The decision by referee Richard Martin to send off Kenny Clark against Luton on Tuesday night changed the game and incensed Burman.

The league leaders came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 and that result means Dartford are still in the Skrill Premier relegation zone ahead of their trip to Lincoln on Saturday.

Burman was convinced Martin got it wrong. He said: "He’s gone for the ball and I’m standing right close to it. The referee is not to one side, he’s behind him. He couldn’t see it. It wasn’t a sending-off. It’s not a straight red. It’s not two-footed.

"For me, it was the wrong decision. It’s knocked us. We need to have 11 players playing against a team like Luton. It’s hard enough with 11 players but having 10, it’s a little bit demoralising. It gave them the initiative."

Dartford now have six games to save themselves from relegation, having been in the drop zone since November. And Burman urged his players to forget the disappointment of the Luton defeat and focus on the trip to Sincil Bank.

He said: "That’s gone now and we’ve got to move on. All we can do is try to get something out of Saturday’s game. We haven’t lost ground on anybody else. We’re still in touch to try to finish top of that mini-league. On Saturday, it all starts again.

"In 14 games, we’ve lost four, from the turn of the year and that’s not bad going. We’ll keep going, we’ll keep battling away. We know it’s going to be tough but it’s tough for other people as well."

Dartford have on-loan Luton players Jim Stevenson and Alex Wall available for the Lincoln game, having been ineligible to play against their parent club in midweek.