Darlington manager Mick Tait last night refused to be drawn in on speculation linking former Feethams favourite Marco Gabbiadini with a return to the club.

The Quakers boss is keen to add weight to his attacking options, although a move for 35-year-old Gabbiadini, who was released by relegated Northampton Town at the end of the season, remains purely speculative among fans keen to find out who chairman George Reynolds' mystery "20-goal-a-season" striker is.

"We've got several players who we are looking at and as soon as we have something a little bit more concrete we'll let everybody know," said Tait.

"There's going to be names mentioned all the way through the summer, but it's just speculation."

Tait has taken his first steps in strengthening his squad for next season after announcing he expects to welcome at least two players on trial next week.

He has so far been thwarted in his attempts to add any new faces to his depleted squad, which returned for pre-season training yesterday.

One target, Sam Aiston, yesterday pledged his future to relegated Shrewsbury, while Tom Newey, who enjoyed a successful loan spell with the club towards the end of last season, is considering a number of offers, including that of Quakers.

However, Tait is still hopeful of including at least one new addition when the club begins its preparations for next season with a friendly at Bishop Auckland on July 12.

"We've had a look at a couple of players and hopefully we can get them involved in the next few weeks," said Tait.

"There wasn't any real point in having them in this week because it's up to them to keep themselves fit but hopefully we can have a proper look at them in some pre-season games."

Skipper Craig Liddle came through yesterday's session without any problems after a summer knee operation.

And Tait last night praised the condition of the rest of his squad after an eight-week lay-off.

"I sent out letters to everybody in the summer to make sure they came back in good shape," said Tait. "It was good to see all the lads back this morning and you could tell they'd already done a bit of work in the summer.

"That's very pleasing to see although it doesn't surprise me either because I know how good their attitude is."

* Darlington's trip to Northampton has been brought forward to Friday, August 22 (7.45).*l Barnsley finally ended weeks of turmoil by announcing entrepreneur Sean Lewis as their new owner - although the California-based businessman was not on hand for his own unveiling.

Lewis will officially take over at Oakwell from today, with current owner and former Barnsley mayor Peter Doyle to sever all ties with the club after a turbulent nine-months in charge.

Up until last Wednesday, Doyle looked to have a deal in place with former Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale, only for the final tabled offer to be rejected and slammed as ''derisory''.

Ridsdale is likely to now turn his attentions to Oldham.

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