DARLINGTON director of football Luke Raine has called on the town to get behind the club as they attempt to pick up the pieces from last season and attempt a promotion assault.

After reaching the Third Division play-off final the previous year, Quakers finished last season in the lower reaches of the table and ended the campaign with six straight defeats.

But since then manager Gary Bennett has brought in experienced Middlesbrough midfielder Neil Maddison and a much-needed striker in the form of Barry Conlon, giving supporters renewed hope for the next season.

And Raine said: "I'm very confident about the season ahead and think that we're going to do well.

"It's important that we move up into the Second Division and the new stadium at the same time.

"It would be nice if we could all get together and get behind the club - that's supporters of the club and everyone in the town, whether they are football fans or not.

"Maddison signing was a massive coup for this club. We've been working very hard in the close season behind the scenes to get things right and it goes without saying that the chairman has put a lot of money in and it would be nice to see the supporters repaying that.

Season ticket sales have reached 1,300 despite the added attraction of a free ticket for the new ground the following season, but Raine remains hopeful the total will rise.

"I suspect there might be one or two people just hanging on until the first few games of the season before deciding to buy a season ticket," he said.

Were the Quakers to sign Sunderland winger Neil Wainwright, season ticket sales would be sure to rise, but with Peter Reid demanding a fee for the out-of-favour player, any transfer looks doomed to failure.

Raine admitted: "At this moment in time he's surplus to requirements and we'd like to get him in, but they have a figure on him but it doesn't really matter what it is because we aren't going to pay it."

* Former West Ham and Everton striker Tony Cottee has announced his retirement after an 18-year playing career.

The 36-year-old appeared in the Premiership and all three divisions of the Nationwide League last season for Leicester, Norwich, Millwall and Barnet.

Cottee, though, endured a nightmare spell as player-manager at Barnet, taking the Bees to the brink of relegation before leaving Underhill and ending his playing career at Millwall.

He aims to stay in touch with the game through media work and says his unhappy managerial experience has not put him off a return to coaching or management at some stage.

''I'd be available if it was the right offer,'' Cottee told West Ham's official website whufc.co.uk.