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Dartford FC players report back for pre-season training next week

00:00, 21 June 2018

Exciting wingers will be looking to impress on trial when Dartford start pre-season training on Tuesday.

Joint-managers Adam Flanagan and Jamie Coyle will be running the rule over several free agents as they start work as Tony Burman's successors.

Darts have kept the core of last season's team but there are still places up for grabs as a new era begins at Princes Park.

Dartford joint-managers Jamie Coyle and Adam Flanagan
Dartford joint-managers Jamie Coyle and Adam Flanagan

Flanagan said: "We've got a lot of exciting trialists coming in, especially in wide areas, and we're happy with how the shape of the team is going.

"We're eager to get back on Tuesday and start moulding it how we'd like in anticipation of the first few games.

"There's a few we've contacted, young players who we feel deserve an opportunity to showcase what they've got. Others have made contact and we've decided 'yes, let's give him an opportunity.'

"We need bodies around for the pre-season fixtures. We go Saturday-Tuesday through pre-season and then into a busy league campaign where the same trend will continue.

"We want to make sure everything we're doing, squad-wise, is ready to maximise the start of the league.

"We'll have bodies and we'll give opportunities to players during pre-season and see how that works out. We're hoping there will be a few good surprises in there."

Delano Sam-Yorke will meet his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday after becoming Dartford's fourth summer signing.

The striker was released by Maidstone at the end of last season having previously played for Woking, Basingstoke, Cambridge and Forest Green.

Flanagan said: "We looked at Delano, the level of football he's been playing and the experience alone he would add to the group.

"Jamie was around him at Maidstone and felt he would be a good fit with regard to how hard he works and his character.

"In the last six or seven years, he's played higher and when he was in this league, he was quite successful.

"Throughout his career, he's started 190 games and scored 69 goals which is (better than) a one-in-three ratio. In the National League alone, he's one-in-four so we think he's a good signing.

"He's not scored the amount of goals he would have liked last year but the season before he got 10 and if we were talking to him after he'd scored 10, we'd never have got him.

"We're hoping the frustration he had in front of goal last year he'll be able to get out for us in a league I think he'll do really well in."

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