A goal on his return to the Dartford team has given striker Jason Prior hope that his stop-start season could finally be taking off.

Prior spent a month on loan with the Darts at the end of last season and supporters were pleased when he signed a permanent deal in the summer.

But the 24-year-old failed to score in the first four games of the season and was subsequently dropped.

Prior sat on the bench for the next five matches but was recalled by manager Tony Burman on Saturday. And his goal on 34 minutes was the catalyst for a superb 3-0 win over Kidderminster.

He said: “After being out of the team for a few games, it was good to come back in and get a goal and a brilliant result against a good side.

“I’d like to have more goals under my belt and being out of the team hasn’t been ideal. When the manager took me out of the team, I couldn’t complain. It was off the back of a few disappointing performances.

“I was half-expecting to play against Luton (last Tuesday) but before that game, he pulled me in and said I wasn’t playing. We had a chat before the (Kidderminster) game about the reasons why I’ve been out of the team. He explained it to me and we were both happy with that.”

An ankle injury meant Prior missed the midweek trip to Grimsby but he is expected back in the Darts squad for Saturday’s game at home to Southport.