THE pressure is on Darlington to keep on picking up points, a consequence of a poor run which began back in November with a trip to Tamworth.

A 2-1 defeat instigated a stumble down the table from second to seventh, leaving them among a clutch of clubs with play-off aspirations.

They return to the West Midlands today when Martin Gray’s men face Worcester City – weather permitting.

After heavy rain yesterday, there will be a pitch inspection at 9am.

Darlington defeated Worcester 5-1 in October, a fortnight before losing at Tamworth, which was the first of 15 matches during which Quakers have failed to win-back-to-back games.

Today, however, they aim to build on Tuesday’s win over Altrincham, a 3-1 victory which means Darlington could move back into a play-off position if Halifax Town and Stockport County drop points.

“It’s a similar situation to last year, when we had to win every week,” said Quakers boss Gray, whose team has 11 fixtures to play.

“We had 12 games in three or four weeks and could hardly afford to drop a point to keep the pressure on Blyth.

“We’ve got the mentality, we’ve got the focus, but we’ve got to make sure that we do our talking on the pitch.”

Worcester play at the Victoria Ground in Bromsgrove after selling their former home to a housing developer in 2013, and their form has deteriorated in recent months after a cost-cutting exercise saw several players leave.

Ex-West Brom striker Lee Hughes is among those to have exited, departing a team which has not won any of their last 14 matches.

Seven days ago they became the first team rock-bottom Altrincham had beaten since October.

Gray said: “We’ve got to go down there full of confidence. It’s a game we’ve got to win, a draw is no good to us at this stage of the season.

“So we’ve got to be on the front foot and be resilient.”

Leading scorer Mark Beck took his tally for the season to 13 by opening the scoring after a corner on Wednesday, and he also had a hand in the second goal.

He flicked the ball on to Nathan Cartman, who played in Josh Falkingham to score, but Gray believes Beck can contribute even more to Quakers’ cause.

“He’s been great for us all season, but he needs to do more,” said the manager.

“His game is good, but we always ask for more from players and to be fair to him he wants to be better himself.

“As good as he was on Wednesday, I think there’s more to come. His all-round game is to be improved.

“He’s got 13 goals, I’d like to think he can get 20 before the end of the season and he should do with the amount of chances he gets.”

Beck’s goal tally and superiority in the air means he is likely to attract interest from elsewhere, though Quakers will hope to keep him next season.

Gray added: “He’s our focal point and you need that. He’s probably one of the better forwards at this level at what he does, but he could be better. He’s left-footed and wins a lot in the air so he stands out.”

Falkingham stood out during Wednesday’s win, the midfielder putting in a man of the match performance in his first game back in the middle of the pitch after replacing Leon Scott, who today begins a four-match ban.

“I thought Josh was outstanding,” said Gray.

“His all-round game, he got around the pitch, he used his experience and his decision-making on the ball was very good too.

“It was a great left-footed strike he scored.”