A 250-MILE trip to the capital does not normally give cause for a high degree of optimism, but today's visit to east London has come as a welcome relief to Tommy Taylor's Darlington.

A run of four defeats in five has caused many Quakers' critics to find their voices at Feethams, and Taylor feels a break from the boo-boys today at Orient could provide just the boost his beleaguered players require.

And Taylor - who returns to the club where he made his name as a manager - is hoping the change of environment can trigger an improvement in the Quakers' fortunes.

"When the attendances are down you can hear the voices a little more clearly and it may help us to be playing away from home," said the Quakers' boss.

"The fans are entitled to criticise but some of it just isn't justified

"I really believe that in the main we've had a good start to the season.

"We've lost three games 1-0 we shouldn't have, and we've been made to pay for failing to score.

"We were poor against Wrexham - we got better in the second half but we still didn't play well enough.

"Against York we lost 1-0 and we should have won that game."

Quakers may have endured a miserable run of late but Taylor still believes his team are capable of mounting a charge up the table.

Since beating Carlisle 2-0 on August 27, Taylor has seen his side go behind in every one of their games, only forcing draws at Kidderminster and last weekend at home to Bournemouth.

But the manager - who revealed he has made enquiries about taking out-of-favour Middlesbrough forward Dean Windass on loan - remains upbeat, despite his side's position in the bottom five

"I'm not despondent because I think it's a matter of time before we turn the corner," said Taylor.

"I may be going back to Orient but that's history now - there'll be a few handshakes and hellos, but I'm Darlington manager now.

"All that matters to me is getting a result and what we need is to get out of the blocks quickly. We've been behind too many times and if we get the first goal then I think the confidence will grow in the side.

"We always seem to be playing catch-up and it's time we stopped giving the opposition a start.

"We're not too far away from getting it right, and when we do you'll see us start to move up the table.

"There are a few clubs in false positions in the league and we're one of them."

One man who can help plug any leaks in the defence is skipper Craig Liddle.

It had been hoped the inspirational centre-back would be back in action this afternoon after gashing his thigh at York, but a reaction in training has scuppered his comeback hopes.

Taylor added: "We'll have to wait until Bristol Rovers now to see Lidds back.

"He was feeling fine when he arrived at training but he felt something and we're not going to take any chances."

Quakers will also be missing stiff neck victim Neil Maddison, and a re-jigged midfield will see Ashley Nicholls come in alongside Mark Ford, with Neil Wainwright and Richard Hodgson playing wide.

"Maddison will be a big miss because he's been working hard this season," said Taylor.

"But he came in and could hardly move his head - he must have done something in his sleep. There was no way he could travel."

Another change is likely to see Graham Fenton on the bench today after two starts in the last week, but Taylor had nothing but praise for his loan signing.

"He's had a tough week but I have been more than impressed with what I have seen so far," Taylor said about the former Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa forward.

"He's got a football brain and once he's fully fit I think he'll be a real star for us."

On the transfer front Quakers hope to sort out personal terms with Carlisle's centre-half Stuart Whitehead on Monday, and negotiations are still on-going with former fans' favourite Marco Gabbiadini over a return to Feethams.

l After conceding pole position in the Wearside League last week, Wolviston aim to bounce back when they go to Darlington RA.

Midfielder Simon Colligan has recovered from a neck injury. Also included is midfielder Jamie Morton, who until recently was playing in the United Counties League. Striker John Symon has a thigh strain. RA, who performed very well in their first season in the league, have been unable to reproduce the consistency. But boss David Woodcock has a near full-strength pool available with Stephen Johnson, Mark Radmore and Mark Hebden all coming into his plans. New leaders Birtley Town face Ferryhill Athletic. Michael Ford is ruled out but Ian Davison, recently signed from Esh Winning, is available