THERE is no love lost between Darlington and Salford City, despite it being Valentine’s Day this weekend, yet today’s encounter will be ‘just be another game’.

That’s Martin Gray’s verdict, the Darlington manager choosing to take a low-key approach to a match between the promotion rivals.

They are two of a handful of sides vying for the single automatic promotion place, currently occupied by Blyth Spartans, whereas a year ago Salford and Quakers were locked in a head-to-head battle for promotion.

A feisty encounter at Moore Lane on January 31 resulted in a 2-0 win for Salford, who prevailed in the title race too, and two Darlington players were shown red cards.

Gray wants nothing of the sort at Moore Lane today, and said: “It’s business as usual for me.

“We go there in good form against a good Salford team, who we highly respect, and it’ll be two good teams who are both going for promotion.

“We just want to continue the form that we’re in. Whether it’s Salford or anybody else in the table, it doesn’t make any difference. It’s just another game and one we’re looking forward to.”

Darlington are fourth and a win would see them leapfrog third-placed Salford, whose league form is patchy.

Their last seven matches have seen three wins, two draws and two defeats, and they have won fewer home league games than every other club in the top half of the table.

However, Gray warned: “They’ll raise their game as they always do in big matches.

“I saw them at Blyth, so I’ve seen enough of them. I know their strengths and weaknesses, they know my strengths and weaknesses, they do their homework, just like we do.

“It’ll be 90 minutes of blood and thunder, we’ll have to hold our nerve and do things right in both boxes. If we are able to do that then we’ll win the game.”