DARLINGTON Football Club’s board of directors are searching for solutions to their play-off problems from a club 325 miles south of Blackwell Meadows.

Dorset’s Poole Town Football Club have been handed the same ruling as Darlington not permitting the club to compete in the Vanarama National League play-offs after similarly failing to meet ground requirements.

Like the Quakers, Poole Town FC stand fifth in the Southern counterpart of the National League North, but neither club provide 500 seats under cover as per National League ground grading regulations.

Supporters of the Dolphins desperately fundraised towards a £170,000 project to spare their club from demotion to the Evo-Stick League Southern by upgrading existing facilities at their home ground.

However, neither of the would-be play-off competitors can offer the number of permanent seating required under the National League’s ground-grading rules last revised in May 2016.

Ned Payne, a sports reporter at the Bournemouth Daily Echo, said: “Certain things [Poole] had to do included moving a floodlight, for example, installing low-level terracing, and installing new turnstiles in order to remain at that level.

“As I understand it, they don’t have the required amount of seating under cover like Darlington to facilitate them going up.”

Poole’s vice-chairman Chris Reeves confirmed to the Daily Echo that he is in contact with the Football Association (FA) regarding an appeal.

Within Darlington FC’s statement issued from the club’s board of directors, a spokesman said: “The board will be appealing against this decision and is liaising with Poole Town FC who are in a similar situation.”

The Dorset club recently rebranded its stadium and received approval from FA inspectors to continue playing in the National League – the same approval granted to Blackwell Meadows in December.

Seating remits are set over and above FA ground rules.