After celebrating his 100th league game as Darlington manager with a fourth successive victory, Martin Gray is hoping his next century of games is similarly successful.

Tuesday’s trip to Brighouse Town saw Gray reach a century of league matches since being appointed in the summer of 2012, and the 3-1 win represented a 75th victory.

It is a remarkably successful record, one that has seen Quakers lose only 11 times and achieve a goal average of almost three per game - 275 goals scored – while they have kept 46 clean sheets in that time.

The manager, though, admits he had not been aware of Tuesday’s landmark, but now wants to build on it with a 76th win at Prescot Cables today that could take Darlington top of the Evo-Stik League table.

“I was astounded by those stats,” said Gray, who has been in charge of 115 matches in all competitions. “You don’t realise what we’ve done since day one, winning 75 games and keeping that many clean sheets. You never look back on your record, you’re always looking forward to your next game.

“Until someone mentions these things to you, you just get on with playing the next match. I didn’t have a clue it had been my 100th match or our 75th win.

“It makes you realise that we’ve achieved a hell of a lot in two and a half years. It’s a great achievement by everybody, not just me, everybody has played their part from the recruitment of players to the people running the club.

“It’s good to see those stats because it makes you see that the club has come a long way and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone from day one.

“Let’s hope we’ve got the same record in two years’ time with a promotion in there as well. Records don’t mean as much as promotion and what’s really important is Saturday.”

Prescot Cables were one of the five clubs Darlington failed to beat home or away last season, both fixtures being draws with the match at Valerie Park in March, when Adam Mitchell made his debut, being 0-0.

The Merseyside club are 19th having drawn all four league games, while second-placed Quakers would go top with a win if leaders Salford fail to take three points at home to Farsley.

Having fielded a settled side of late, Gray hopes to keep changes to a minimum and says midfielder Tom Portas, who was substituted in midweek with a hamstring problem, should be available, while Stephen Thompson is also expected to make the trip.

The manager said: “We’ve had them looked at last night and this morning and they should be okay for the weekend. No David Dowson yet, but the other two have got a great chance.

“Hamstring and calf injuries are related to your lower back, but we’ve got good physiotherapists so they’re well looked after.

“Dowson is getting somewhere near, hopefully he’ll be available next weekend.”

Tuesday saw Darlington forced into a reshuffle with three positional changes as well as Jordan Robinson recalled for the injured Thompson.

Gray added: “After conceding the first goal we controlled the first half. It wasn’t us at our best, but it was a good performance. You can always be better in certain departments, but you’ve got to remember that there were two or three changes in the team.

“That’s four wins in a row now, we’ve scored 13 goals and conceded two, so it’s getting better.

“Now it’s about staying consistent, not getting complacent and looking to bring three points back.”