Dartford’s senior players need to stand up and dig their side out of trouble when National League South football returns to Princes Park on Saturday.

That’s the view of defender Lee Burns, who insists boss Tony Burman should not take all the blame for the Darts’ recent poor form.

Burman’s side host Hemel Hempstead this weekend having lost their last four matches and won only one in seven.

The manager has borne the brunt of supporters’ criticism but Burns, now in his seventh season at Dartford, admits he and his team-mates need to take responsibility too.

The 33-year-old said: "I understand it. I’m an Arsenal supporter and I’ll have a moan about Arsene Wenger, but Tony is the best man for the job in my eyes.

"It makes you laugh because everyone goes on about the manager but we’re the ones out there. He can only do so much, we’ve got to do it on the field.

"He puts a side out, he wants it to produce and we’re not doing it at the moment. People keep calling for his head but we’re the only ones who can change it.

"Losing to Uxbridge (in the FA Cup) was my worst result for Dartford. That was the lowest I’ve felt.

"You start soul-searching and thinking ‘where do we go from here?’ but you can’t keep moaning about things. You’ve got to get on with it and we need to step up and be men about it.

"We’ve still got to stick together. We can’t have any negativity around the place because that doesn’t do anyone any favours, including the confidence of the players.

"The atmosphere in the team is still good. We’re all friends and we stick together. If the dressing-room starts going, you know you’ve got problems – but it hasn’t."

Read the full story in the Dartford Messenger.