FORMER Darlington manager Dave Penney has refused to deny his interest in taking some of his former Quakers with him to Oldham.

But he has played down reports that he wants to fill his new squad with former Darlington players.

Players at cash-strapped Quakers have been going largely without pay for three months and all can leave on free transfers.

Rivals clubs have been quick to act and almost all of the squad have been made offers.

Penney, who received a rapturous welcome during yesterday’s fundrasing game, admitted: “It’d be unfair to pick players’ names from Darlington but the situation is that there’s a couple of good footballers at the club.

“It looks like the squad will fall apart. All the players that are out of contract the club can’t re-sign, there’s options on certain players that the club can’t take up so they are going to end up walking away.

“I’ve had managers ringing me to ask about players, asking ‘if you’re not taking them with you to Oldham will they do for me’? And the answer for nearly every one of them is yes.

“There’s some good players here and if someone offers to start paying them next week then they’re are going to leave.

“No doubt some of the players have three, four or five offers.

That shows you that we assembled a decent squad and, all things being equal, we would’ve gone up this season.”

One of those definitely leaving, at least temporarily, is teenage striker Curtis Main who joins Fulham on trial this week.

Unlike the senior pros, if Main were to leave, Quakers would be entitled to a transfer fee due to him still being classed as a youth team player.

Among Penney’s first recruits when he became Darlington boss were a clutch of players who worked under him at Doncaster, but he pointed out: “What you have to bear in mind is that when I left Doncaster I dropped down a division for Darlington.

“So I knew the players that had played for me before could do it at that level. Now I’ve got to decide, if I want any players at Darlington, which ones could handle League One.

“It also depends on what positions need filling at Oldham.

“We had right-back Neil Austin in the team of the year, but Oldham had two players in the League One team of the year: the right-back, Neil Eardley, and a wide left/striker, Chris Taylor.

“I’m not going to rush into anything because there’s going to be lots of players available on free transfers in the summer. ”