DARTFORD boss Tony Burman believes the Conference South title is Woking’s to lose.

Woking are the runaway leaders of the division, currently sitting 17 points ahead of fourth-placed Dartford.

But despite the Surrey side being in the driving seat to claim automatic promotion, Burman maintains his belief Woking can be caught, although the manager concedes it’s looking increasingly unlikely.

He said: “It’s up to us Welling, Chelmsford and Sutton to keep plugging away and hope that Woking hit a bad run of form.

“You have to live in hope, that’s all we can do at the moment. You’ve just got to keep believing that something might happen.

“Woking are doing what good teams do, keeping clean sheets and winning games.

“If you keep clean sheets, you’ve got a much better opportunity to win matches.”

Burman also praised his own side’s dogged determination after they picked up four points against promotion rivals Welling over the festive period, leaving them just two points behind the Wings.

He added: “I was delighted to come out of the two games against a side above us and a decent team with four points, it’s a great tally.

“We knew that Welling would have a lot possession because they had more men in midfield than us.”

A standout performer in the two games was Gillingham loanee Connor Essam, who has become an instant hit with Darts fans.

Burman was quick to admire the contribution of the young defender, but was uncertain of his future at the club.

The manager said: “There are still two weeks to go before his loan ends, so no decisions have been made yet.

“He has done ever so well for us.

“Connor’s a professional footballer and I don’t want to put any pressure on him regarding whether he should or shouldn’t stay.”

Burman also insisted it’s going to be a quiet January for the Darts in terms of potential comings and goings at the club.

When quizzed on the possibility of players joining this month he replied: “No, not at this moment in time.

“We’re happy with what we’ve got.”

Dartford travel to struggling Havant & Waterlooville at the weekend, looking to build on their results against Welling.

But boss Burman insists he is expecting a very tough game and added it is down to his team to show the right attitude on the day.

He explained: “We’ve got to be consistent and that’s what we’ll endeavour to do “It will be a tough game down there, they’re at the wrong end of the table.

“You know you’re always going to come up against a decent team and decent players when you take on Havant who on their day are very good in this league.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do and hopefully that will bring us back three points.”

Burman has a full Darts squad to select from other than Lee Burns, who is currently rated at 50/50.

Follow us on Twitter @NewsShopperSprt