IN a week the season will be over for another year, yet Darlington could be forgiven for wanting it to last longer due to their current fine form.

Thursday evening’s 2-1 win at Spennymoor Town made it eight victories in 12 games, marking a terrific turnaround in Tommy Wright’s 24-game tenure.

After leaving Nuneaton Town, today’s opponents at Blackwell Meadows, he won only one of his first 12 matches and Darlington sank to 20th in January.

But after recovering from that nadir, Wright’s team have risen to 11th place and a top-half finish is within grasp.

It remains not beyond possibility that Quakers could even gatecrash the top seven, though a series of unlikely results would be required – Darlington are six points shy of seventh-placed Spennymoor behind with three games to play.

Nonetheless, the spirit among the squad and club has grown, and the fans’ belief in Wright since replacing Martin Gray has never been higher.

“There was a transition period,” he admits. “A really successful manager left – some people say they didn’t care that he left, but the reality is that he was successful – so there was always going to be a transition, we’ve come out of it now and everything feels settled.

“The vibe around the place is unbelievable, there’s a really good feeling around the club and the lads are thriving in this environment.

“The better results were coming. The Alfreton and Salford games in January, afterwards we were licking our wounds a bit and feeling sorry for ourselves because we felt as though we were getting there.

“Other than a few games – Gainsborough when we were awful, Brackley when we were under the weather, Boston last time at home we were awful too – we’ve been relatively happy with the performances.

“The lads have been playing the way we want them to and the belief is there throughout the club.”

However, it’s only a fortnight since poor performance resulted in a 2-1 home defeat to Boston United – one of only two defeats in 14 fixtures.

Wright added: “If you’d asked me after the Boston game I’d have said I can’t wait for the doors to close on the season, but if we win on Saturday and results go for us again it would open up again for us.

“I said two months ago that I didn’t want to finish three points outside the play-off places as it would hurt me all summer, but that could easily become a reality. I would be gutted for everyone.”

Backed by a large contingent of away supporters at the Brewery Field, Thursday was Wright’s best moment since being made Quakers manager in October.

He added: “Everyone is having a lot of fun, but we have had a hard season mentally as much as anything. Changes that have happened, players that were used to winning started to lose, but now that they’re winning again they are starting to look like themselves.

“Everything around the place is positive and it’s a really good feeling.”

Wright’s final game as Nuneaton boss was a 2-1 win against Quakers, his replacement was Dino Maamria who has since left to take charge at Stevenage, so in the opposition dug-out today will be Gary Charles. The 48-year-old former Nottingham Forest right-back, infamously known for being on the end of Paul Gascoigne’s awful challenge in the 1991 FA Cup final, became a manager for the first time when he was appointed last month.

* Tickets remain on sale for Darlington’s awards night at the Kings Head Hotel in Darlington on Friday, May 4 (7pm). Tickets cost £40 depending on group size, and tables of ten are available. For more details, contact: hospitality@darlingtonfc.org