Darlington will make the trip to Southport this Saturday, aiming to build on their impressive away form, having won four of their last five matches on the road.

Assistant Manager Terry Mitchell spoke ahead of the fixture, highlighting the team’s confidence going into the game.

“Like every game, we’ll be going to try and win,” said Mitchell. “Our away form is really good at the moment, and we want to continue that.”

Darlington secured a 3-0 win over Southport earlier this season, but Mitchell is not reading too much into that result.

“They were well in the game last time, and they had some good chances as well. They’ve made quite a few changes since then, bringing in loan players, so it’ll be a totally different game. But we’re looking forward to it and aiming for a positive result.”

The Quakers head into the match following a 3-1 league win over Marine, a result that kept them firmly in the play-off hunt.

“It was a really good performance, especially in the second half. Even though our goals came from set-pieces – two penalties and a free kick – we created plenty of chances and worked the goalkeeper well,” Mitchell added.

Squad depth will be improved this weekend, after Darlington were only able to name four substitutes last Saturday due to player availability.

“It’s given some of the lads a bit more time to regain fitness, and we’re in a really positive situation now,” Mitchell said. “The only player unavailable is Cameron Salkeld, who is unfortunately out for at least six weeks.”

The midweek postponement of Tuesday’s match at Alfreton means the squad is well-rested, and with 17 league games left to play, Darlington remain just five points off the play-offs.

“It’s a great position to be in, fighting for something at the right end of the table,” said Mitchell. “There are going to be a lot of Saturday-Tuesday fixtures, so we’re going to need everyone fit and ready. But we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

With confidence high and the squad getting stronger, Darlington will be aiming to keep their momentum going with another big performance at Southport.