First paragraph: League sponsors Vanarama have been busy assessing the season so far - and what’s to come!

Story so far…

With so many new signings, a period of transition was inevitable. The Quakers have picked up one win in their opening four games, a win over Kettering Town. They lost to Farsley Celtic on the opening day before drawing with Gateshead. More recently they suffered defeat to Curzon Ashton.

From the dugout...

A fuming Alun Armstrong didn’t take too kindly to their opening day loss to and got straight to the point. “That was unacceptable,” he said. But after better showings against Gateshead and Kettering, the boss thought “they showed what they were capable of.”

Biggest result so far...

The win against Kettering Town will have undoubtedly settled a few nerves in the camp. It might be the very early stages of the season but expectation is high at Blackwell Meadows, and with four points from two home games so far, there are encouraging signs.

Top performer…

Stephen Thompson’s consistent performances have captured the imagination of the Quakers faithful. While results haven’t gone completely their way in their opening four games, Thompson’s work-rate hasn’t gone unnoticed – he’s also chipped in with two goals.

Stat attack...

League position: 16th

Home goals for: 4

Away goals for: 2

Home goals against: 1

Away goals against: 6

Top scorer: Stephen Thompson (2)

What the fans say…

Some fans urged caution after the first few games – following their Kettering win, @dale_sando had this to say: “Outstanding today and hopefully a few people will now settle down and let Alun and the boys do their thing.”

Twitter user @aycliffequaker hasn’t let the early disappointments dampen his spirits – “Just keep going! We’ll get there,” he wrote while @FunDisney3 added, “Just keep trying lads.”

Next up…

While at home, the Quakers could be in for a tough time against Southport who travel to the North East on the back of consecutive 3-0 wins.

Southport's one to watch….

Jack Sampson is always a danger for anyone. Raul Correia has been in fine form in the early games and Kieran Glynn has impressed since joining from Salford City.

Last time out….

Darlington haven’t beaten Southport for almost a decade – their last victory coming way back in 2010. Last season’s encounters provided little entertainment with both meetings ending goalless.

League sponsors Vanarama have recently launched the National League Club Reward scheme to help fans back their club's budget. Every time a fan takes out a brand new van lease with Vanarama or a brand new car lease with Motorama their club will earn £100 and you will receive £30 cashback!

For the latest van leasing deals head to Vanarama. https://www.vanarama.com

For the latest car leasing deals head to Motorama. https://www.motorama.com/top-offers