Belief key to survival

Hodgson has warned his players that without it the Reynolds Arena could be swapping Hull for Halifax next season, and the reality of Conference football.

In the 13 weeks Hodgson has been back at the helm, Quakers have failed to move away from their precarious place in the relegation zone of the Third Division.

But in that time Gateshead-born Hodgson has been able to asses, address and mastermind the survival of the club he cares so much about.

And 14 games into his third spell in command, Hodgson has a fair idea of what's required.

Even under such financial restraints, the Quakers boss is confident he has enough muscle in his current squad to preserve league status for another season at least.

And, after last week's 2-0 win at promotion-chasing Huddersfield, Quakers fans have every reason to be optimistic ahead of this afternoon's clash at mid-table Bristol Rovers.

"We have to approach every game with the belief that we can win games," said Hodgson.

"We don't need to think we can, we need to know we can beat anybody and I know we can.

"For a club in our position I wouldn't go anywhere with any other attitude.

"If we approach every game with that kind of attitude then there's a very good chance we'll come away with something.

"Nobody expected us to go to Huddersfield and get something but we did.

"I'm working with a fantastic bunch of lads who deserve to stay up purely on their attitude."

And after taking seven points from their last three games, Hodgson's men have safety in their sights.

Quakers remain one point adrift of third-bottom Southend, but last week's win at the McAlpine Stadium has closed the gap on Macclesfield, Kidderminster and Boston.

With basement club Carlisle, like Quakers, showing signs of recovery, the teams above the bottom two are now nervously looking over their shoulders.

"It's no use worrying about the likes of Carlisle and everybody else," said Hodgson.

"As long as we win our games they have to win too. If we can pick up another win it means we're dragging others above us into the pack.

"At the moment there are five or six sides in that pack who could face a difficult run-in and hopefully we're not going to be one of them."

Hodgson is likely to name an unchanged side after last week's 2-0 win at Huddersfield.

Youngster Chris Mason is the only addition and travelled with the rest of the squad yesterday.

The 18-year-old left-back - a product of Darlington's youth set-up - has recently been on loan at Brian Honour's Bishop Auckland in the UniBond First Division.

"We've brought Chris in because he deserves to be in," said Hodgson. "Brian Honour has come back to us with some glowing reports about him.

"He's done very well in the reserves for us and is in the squad on merit."

On-loan striker Neil Teggart was left out of training on Thursday as a precaution after the 19-year-old felt a twinge in his hamstring.

However, the Sunderland forward will be fit to start his second game for the club this afternoon alongside top scorer Barry Conlon.

"Neil had a bit of a breather on Thursday but he'll be back in on Saturday," said Hodgson. "We need him out there. What he does is what we need and that's somebody who makes things happen around the box."

The Northern Ireland forward was brought to the Reynolds Arena as a replacement for Lee Matthews, who returned to Bristol City after an unsuccessful loan spell. Matthews joined bitter rivals Rovers shortly after returning to Ashton Gate last month.

However, the Middlesbrough-born forward will not face his former club today after his loan spell was cut short by an ankle injury.

"It's a shame for Lee because I'm sure he will have been looking forward to facing us," said Hodgson.

"In a way it has probably worked in our favour because I'm sure he would have been up for the game."

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