Forward-thinking Dartford manager Ady Pennock says preparations for an immediate return to National League South are already in full swing

The planning has already started for Dartford manager Ady Pennock.

The Darts were relegated from National League South after a 3-1 defeat at champions Yeovil last Saturday.

“I started a month ago,” explained Pennock. “I’ve only been there six weeks or so but I was planning for whatever league we would be in.

“I knew the situation and there was a possibility we might get relegated so I was planning for that scenario and I was planning for if we’d stayed in the league as well.

“That’s something you have to do, I don’t think you can wait until the last game of the season or two or three weeks into the off-season. You’ve got to be forward-thinking and I was planning for both scenarios.

“It’s very disappointing. It’s a very good football club and for one reason or another this year something has gone wrong.

“I’m not one to point fingers at anybody and I won’t start doing it now. It’s very rare that you hear Dartford as a football club do get it wrong.

“They’ve been in the National League or Conference South for a long time. What we’ve got to do now, from top to bottom - and that’s me included - is we’ve got to regroup and learn by the mistakes that the club has made. We’ll go again and start afresh in August.”

Pennock was only appointed at the start of March but it proved a thankless task as he inherited a squad lacking in quality and fitness.

There was a sense of inevitability even before the new man came through the door and, despite an improvement in performances, Pennock has been unable to turn the ship around.

It’s now just two wins in 21 league matches for Dartford, a run stretching back to the end of last year.

He’ll rightly be judged on how he turns Dartford around during the close season ahead of what the club will