Dartford have appointed Steve King as their new manager.

The former Welling boss has been handed a two and a half year deal at Princes Park to steer "the club's promotion and community development ambitions".

VOTE: Is Steve King the right man for Dartford?

King left Welling in the summer as chairman Mark Goldberg wanted to take over again in the dugout.

But his impressive record at National League South record was enough to convince Dartford to make him their man.

King replaces Jamie Coyle and Adam Flanagan, who resigned as joint-managers in September following a 3-2 defeat at Tonbridge.

Dartford co-chairman Steve Irving said: “No-one should have any doubt that Steve’s arrival is a statement that the football club we all love, and some of us have served for decades, is determined not to stand still but to grow steadily and surely towards our goal of league football.

"Running this club has never been about riding a wave of boom and bust but about taking stewardship of a club that has been around since 1888 and steering it professionally so that we are a credit to our supporters, our community and our sport.

"Steve has achieved success at clubs with similar budgets to ours. Today, he has been given, and accepted, the challenge of securing success within the resources we have to reach the level we want to be.

"He gave the board an impressive, credible and deliverable vision to provide not just the success we deserve but also to extend our reputation as a club with strong values and a belief that football can transform lives and communities."

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King got the nod ahead of former Braintree manager Brad Quinton and ex-Wealdstone boss Bobby Wilkinson.

"I would like to add my appreciation to all those fine candidates who applied for the position and especially to the number we invited to meet us," added Irving.

"The standard of professionalism, enthusiasm and love for the sport that we encountered through many hours of interview was astonishing and it has renewed all of us with a sense that we are part of a game that attracts some of the finest and most decent people in sport.”

Caretaker boss Tony Burman will be in the dugout at Oxford City on Saturday, as we reported earlier this week, with King's first game the FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie at home to Kingstonian on October 19.

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