Dartford manager Alan Dowson on why he re-arranged home game with Hungerford Town in National League South

Boss Alan Dowson knows it’s a big week for Dartford after re-arranging another home game.

Following their early FA Cup exit to lower-league Beckenham and given the injuries to the likes of Dan Wilks and Luke Coulson, Darts could have been forgiven for enjoying their free weekend this Saturday.

Instead, Dowson has agreed to bring forward their home game with Hungerford, which was due for a Tuesday night in early December.

It means three home games in a week for Dartford who currently sit eighth in National League South, just one point outside the play-off places. They've already beaten Hampton and now host Eastbourne on Tuesday at Princes Park.

“It’s a big week,” stressed Dowson. “If we can win the next two, then we’ll be in a really good place.

“Some people thought I was nuts because it was my choice but I’ve got to show some guts as well.

“If we’d lost on Saturday and Tuesday the pressure would have been massive this Saturday but you can’t think like that, we’ve got to believe we were going to win against Hampton and then win Tuesday and crack on from there.

“We’ve got two more home games coming up and if we can get a run together then we’ll be fine, we’re only a point away from the play-offs. We’ve got to make sure that we’re focused at all times.

“We needed the win over Hampton last Saturday and we’ve got it, so we can crack on and look forward. We’ve got two more home games now this week, let’s get them on.”

After Adam Lovatt’s loan spell from Sutton was cut short when he was recalled by the League 2 club, Dowson moved quickly to bring in midfielder Jack Smith from Stevenage for a month.

The 21-year-old played 60 minutes on his debut against Hampton at the weekend and Dowson wants him to retain possession better