With seven crucial matches remaining in Darlington's scramble for Third Division survival, Northern Echo Sport looks back at the highs and lows of attendances at Feethams in the roller coaster Reynolds' years - and calls on Quakers' fans to rally to the cause.

THESE are anxious times for the supporters of Darlington Football Club.

Despite an unexpected victory away to Scunthorpe last Saturday, Quakers are still too close to the relegation zone for comfort.

Skipper Craig Liddle put it into perspective after last week's match, saying the result had relieved some of the pressure but the club still needed two wins to guarantee survival.

Staying in Division Three is vital for Darlington FC. An impressive new stadium awaits and it would be a travesty for it to be the best ground in the Nationwide Conference.

It is no secret that The Northern Echo has had its differences with chairman George Reynolds.

But the personalities and the distractions off the field are unimportant compared to the need for the club to preserve its league status.

As Darlington's paper, we want Quakers to succeed because a buoyant football club is a powerful force for good in the town.

Attendances have been on the slide and, taking recent league form into consideration, it is not hard to explain why.

Every club has its core set of supporters and at Darlington that figure stands at just over 2,000.

The visit of Cambridge earlier this month was witnessed by Quakers' lowest attendance in recent years when just 2,076 turned up, although the fact that Newcastle's Champions' League encounter with Inter Milan was on live television was clearly a factor.

Back in the 1997/98 season, Quakers finished 19th with an average crowd of 2,366.

A top half finish a season later added another 800.

George Reynolds arrived as club saviour in time for the 1999/2000 season with the promise of Premiership football in five years and a brand new stadium.

Over 5,000 fans turned up at Feethams to welcome their new chairman for the first home game of the season.

And as results on the pitch improved, so did the crowds as Quakers stormed their way into a play-off final against Peterborough at Wembley.

Sadly, it ended in defeat and disappointment for the 10,000 fans who had made the trip to the capital.

Manager David Hodgson and top scorer Marco Gabbiadini departed soon after and crowds struggled to reach 4,000 under new boss Gary Bennett as they finished a disappointing 20th.

A similar crowd average was recorded a season later during which Bennett was replaced by Tommy Taylor as Quakers continued to struggle.

Taylor's reign was to last just 12 months and he was eventually replaced by current caretaker boss Mick Tait.

Despite a promising start under Tait, Quakers remain only six points above the relegation fight with fans - as Tait stated after the Cambridge match - continuing to "vote with their feet".

There have been highs and lows but we hope all true Darlington fans will show their support for the four home matches remaining, starting against Bury today.

A win this afternoon, and another in the run-in, will mean the Quakers are home and dry.

And then the farewell to Feethams, and the move to what we hope will be a bright future at Neasham Road, can be a real celebration.

Read more about the Quakers here.