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Missing out still hurts after strong campaign

Darlington midfielder Will Hatfield says last season's narrow play-off miss is still a source of frustration, but believes the club remains in a strong position to push on again next season.

Speaking during the club's latest off-season interview, Hatfield reflected on a campaign which saw the Quakers spend much of the season in the play-off places before falling just short in the closing weeks.

"It's really tough to take," said Hatfield. "Especially the back end of the second half of the season, we'd been in such a great place, on such great form, and had some fantastic performances collectively and individually.

"It's just a shame the last six games or so, we just fell short. We lost that momentum, we lost a couple of players through injury, lost a couple of loan players, and you always need a bit of luck as well."

Despite the disappointment, Hatfield believes the squad can still take positives from the season as a whole.

"I do believe that we deserved to be in the play-offs this season," he said. "We've had our debrief as players and it still hurts, but we can't dwell on it too much. There's going to be a lot of changes again next season, as there always is at this level, and we've just got to reset, refocus and go again."

Squad balance gave Darlington a platform

Hatfield was also quick to praise the balance and quality within last season's squad, highlighting the contribution of both permanent and loan players.

"I thought the squad balance we had throughout the season was brilliant," he said. "Credit goes to everyone involved in recruitment. The loan players brought in were tremendous, probably some of the best I've seen since being at the club.

"It felt like a real squad effort as well. It wasn't just the starting eleven, there were a lot of players contributing minutes across the whole season."

Looking ahead, Hatfield acknowledged the importance of replacing key departures while maintaining the foundations already in place.

"We're not a million miles away," he said. "We had the ingredients last season. Losing Cedric is obviously a big one because goals are the hardest thing to replace in football, but I've got full trust in the gaffer to identify the right players."

Boost The Budget praised by Hatfield

As ever in May, attention has also turned to Darlington's annual Boost The Budget campaign, and Hatfield admitted players keep a close eye on supporters' efforts.

"I certainly keep an eye on it and I think it's incredible," he said. "Being at the club a long time, I know exactly what it means.

"At the end of the day, the fans are basically paying our wages. The more money we can get, the better quality of player we can bring in, the bigger squad we can have, and that helps everybody."

Hatfield added that the players are never surprised by the continued backing from supporters.

"We always overachieve with it," he said. "I just hope we can do it again. I've got no doubt the fans will go above and beyond as they always do."

Message to supporters ahead of next season

Ending with a message to supporters, Hatfield thanked fans for their backing and urged them to stay behind the squad ahead of the new campaign.

"The fans always turn up in numbers and that's what makes Darlington so unique at this level," he said. "Home and away, the backing is incredible.

"We need to achieve what we all want to achieve, which is getting into the play-offs and getting promoted. It's only going to happen with you guys sticking with us, like you always have.

"I can't wait to see everyone again next season and hopefully be back on the pitch helping the team as much as I can."