“I scored a decent number of goals last season, but I know I can score more.”
New signing Dan Smith took time out from his holiday to talk to Gareth Morgan about signing for the Club.
Dan Smith became the Club’s first new signing of the season when he put pen to paper last week.
The forward, who has played for a number of National South and National League clubs, was in fine form last season at Folkestone Invicta before leaving at the end of the campaign.
Finishing the season with 19 goals in 40 appearances, he won Supporters’ Player of the Year, as well as Goal of the Season and Top Goal Scorer, at the end of season awards.
Now, despite being on a well-deserved break, he’s already thinking about the 25/26 season ahead.
He said: “I’m really excited to join up with Ady and the lads and looking forward to playing at Princes Park in front of the supporters.
“I missed the game last season at Princes Park as I was out for a game with a slight injury. It was pretty much the only match I missed because of it! But I’ve been to the ground and watched a few games there and love the ground and atmosphere.
“Now, I can’t wait to get going.”
A conversation with manager Ady Pennock was all that was needed to persuade Dan that Dartford was the right move for him.
After finishing his university course a few weeks ago, his aim was to find a Club nearer his home in London where he is also expecting to work – and one that could fulfil his ambitions.
He said: “Ady got in contact with me to see if I’d be interested in joining. By that point, I’d had a few offers from Step Two and Step Three clubs, but we had a good chat and he told me his vision.
“We had a good chat in person and then I had a brief conversation with Samir who I knew from when I was at Eastleigh where he trained for a bit while I was playing.
“Samir couldn’t speak highly enough of Ady and the Club and my mind was made up.
“I wanted to be nearer to London with a Club that is moving in the right direction and it ticked all the boxes.”
Dan, 25, was a product of Portsmouth Academy, making his debut in an EFL Trophy tie against Southend Utd January 2019.
A loan spell at Bognor Regis Town saw him score 14 goals in 21 appearances, with 27 goals in 43 appearances when he joined them permanently.
He then went to National League side Eastleigh for the next two seasons, which included loans at National League North side Hereford and Weymouth in the National League.
Dan moved to Dulwich Hamlet in the National League South, before returning to Bognor Regis and then Folkestone, last season.
He said: “I enjoyed it from a personal point of view. I scored a decent number of goals last season, but I know I can score more.
“We expected to have a better season with the players we had. We had a lot of players from The National League and National South and I thought we would go for it, but the team didn’t really click.
“The Club asked me about a new contract, but I had to be honest and say I needed to be nearer to London. I live in London and will be working there when I’m back and don’t want to run the risk of missing training as it’s quite a distance. I told them I didn’t want to disappoint the management, the Club or the fans, so it was best for everyone if I moved on.
“Ady said if I was going to be missing training or wasn’t committed it wasn’t for me as we are here to win football matches. To be honest, he sold it to me as the full package and I’m always committed when I join a club.”
So, what type of player can Darts fans expect to see next season?
He continued: “I work hard and I like a battle, I’m also pretty good in the air. I guess I’m an all-round No.9. I can run in behind, I can hold it off, but I can play however or whichever way, suits the team.
“Hopefully supporters will see goals and assists and I can be creative off the front if I need to be. In a more creative team, I can get more goals than last season.
“One of the things that appealed to me about joining was playing with someone like Samir, as I feel I’m a much better player when I have someone creative behind me.”
Finally, with the team just missing out on promotion last season, what are Dan’s hopes for this season?
He added: “I hope we can go one step further this year.
“It’s a big club going the right way that just lost the Play Off Final. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for promotion. That’s my expectation. Automatic would be my goal.”
With the countdown to pre-season already on, all at DFC are looking forward to watching Dan in action very soon.
