I kicked off this save with no reputation and no coaching badges or experience, just an 18-year-old manager looking for a club that needed a leap of faith. In November that leap of faith came in the form of Dartford. A 6th division club in England who were struggling to stay out of relegation. The semi-professional club lacked direction and needed a man to give them that, and I was the man for that job.
When I first was appointed, there were a lot of players and not much money to pay them, as well as no assistant coach or real staff members besides a scout and a physio. This was something I could change, however, as all the players were on part-time contracts and were easy to release or cancel their contracts. The players who were released were quite easy to get rid of as this club has had a high turnover rate in the past. But with almost all of the team leaving so early, I would need replacements in and quickly.
Our first few signings were Kosovan striker Florent Bojaj on a free transfer, which is mainly our strategy for now, center-back Arran Racine, right-back Harry Lee, Maltese international midfielder Joe Muscatt, and Scottish striker Tom Dickson-peters. There were many squad player signings but these were our main additions.
Playing a 4231 with Florent Bojaj dropping into a shadow striker role and Tom Dickson-peters taking the striker role, we were able to raise our position to third in the Vanerama National League South and making the playoffs and winning the final to be promoted to the Vanerama National League.