Murray McDowell won't be signing for Darlington after Gary Bennett decided not to pursue his interest in the Scottish striker, as well as four other trialists.

The Cowdenbeath forward spent a large chunk of the summer at the Quakers, but he won't become Bennett's latest addition to the ever-growing pool of attackers at Feethams.

New to Darlington's attacking ranks are Danny Mellanby and Barry Conlon, and Bennett was keen to make McDowell the third forward he's brought to the club this summer, while fellow trialists Glenn Robson (forward) and Ben Sherwood (midfield) also impressed.

But Bennett explained: "They've all gone now, Ben Sherwood, Glenn Robson and Murray McDowell won't be signing.

"We were close to signing Murray McDowell but his club wanted a fee and it could've gone to a tribunal.

"At a tribunal the fee could've gone from £1,000 up to £20,000 for example, or even more, and that's a risk we weren't going to take."

Two other possibilities, Maurice Rayer (centre-back) and Mohammed Mahoote (midfielder) have also been crossed-off Bennett's wanted list, despite telling a fans' forum last week that he planned to give the Dutch pair 90 minutes in this afternoon's reserve match at Lincoln.

Any plans to sign them have been shelved after intermediaries complicated the duo's chance to earn a Feethams contract.

"I talked a lot with agents," said Bennett. "I couldn't really wait for them to want to come across here. There seemed to be a lot of crossed wires because there were so many people involved."

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