TONY Burman says Dartford's progression in the FA Cup could hold the key as to whether loan signing Matt Bodkin extends his one-month stay at Princes Park.

The Darts entertain Sittingbourne in the next stage of the competition on Saturday, but Bodkin will be unable to play as parent club Grays do not want him cup tied.

Fellow loanee Alex Martin has already returned to Bishop's Stortford, and now Bodkin could be heading back to Essex if Burman's side progress at the weekend.

The manager explained: "It all depends on how far we go in the FA Cup because there is no point in me having to change the team all the time.

"Alex has already gone back to his club and we will have to sit down and assess Matt's situation next week after the Sittingbourne game when his loan officially ends.

"There is no doubt injuries and suspensions have played a major part in our slow start to the season.

"This isn't an excuse, it is a fact.

"It is because of the injury situation we've had to make loan signings in the first place."

Former Darts pair Steve Hafner and Anthony Hogg make a quick return to Princes Park on Saturday for Sittingbourne following their summer departures, and Burman is expecting both to be well up for the game.

He explained: "I've no doubt about it at all and Steve in particular will probably want to be man of the match.

"It was an amicable decision to part, but we will have to be careful they don't come back to haunt us.

"We've had Sittingbourne watched and their playing staff is essentially the same as when we played them in the league last year.

"They won at Princes Park and we went down there and got a result, so there isn't much in it form wise."

Dartford go into the Kentish derby on the back of last weekend's surprise 3-2 defeat at Northwood, a result which left the manager scratching his head afterwards.

He said: "I'm very disappointed with the outcome because we came from behind to take the lead and could easily have been out of sight before they got back into it.

"It is very difficult to take any positives from a loss because the natural reaction is to be negative.

"I would say though the performance was much better than our last away game at Ware when we lost 4-0."