GEORGE Reynolds last night revealed his determination to put the Tino Asprilla saga behind him - by bringing top players to Darlington.

As Asprilla left Reynolds and the club's supporters in the lurch when he flew out of the North-East and straight into talks in London about a proposed move to the Middle East, the Darlington chairman vowed to continue his pursuit of big names as he strives to put "bums on seats".

Reynolds will redouble his efforts to attract names to the club, but admits Asprilla's actions have shocked him.

He said: "I'm more determined now, I'll still go out and get a big name and this has just made me more determined.

"There's still more players to come, I already had my eyes on three or four before Asprilla but I'd never reveal their names in case something goes wrong.

"I've got to fetch big names in whether I want to or not. We've got a big stadium there and we've got to fill it."

"It's going to take me a day or two to get over this. I hadn't slept for three nights because of the deal and I never slept a wink last night because I was feeling so down.

"It's not like me, you know what I'm like, I'm usually full of bounce. I'm 66 now and I'm not a spring chicken anymore so it's going to take me a couple of days to clear my head."

In some people's eyes, Asprilla signing for Quakers had always seemed too good to be true but it sent Darlington fans' imagination into overdrive and the Colombian could not have imagined the anger and frustration his decision to back out of the move would cause.

Reynolds put a lot of time and effort into the deal and was certain Asprilla would become a Darlington player.

Reynolds revealed yesterday that Asprilla failed to arrive for a medical and then showed up late for the rearranged appointment, only to have not brought his passport which was required.

Reynolds said: "He was to have a medical and sign his contract on Thursday morning, he never turned up stating he had jet lag after being in the country for six days.

"He stated he would show up at 2.30pm, he arrived at 3.50pm."

Reynolds made it clear that Asprilla did not walk out on the deal because of a dispute over money.

"There was no dispute whatsoever about money and the offer we made him, and I can confirm nobody in the First, Second or Third Division could have competed with it," claimed Reynolds.

Attempting to hold back the tears, a clearly choked Reynolds was finding it hard to conceal his frustration at losing out on Asprilla, a player the chairman had believed to have become a close friend in recent weeks.

A deflated Reynolds admitted: "I feel terrible about it, I don't mind telling you I'm completely and utterly gutted. I put my heart and soul into this, the wages were good, the whole package was good.

"I'm not frightened to tell you that this has knocked me for six.

"I'm in tears now to be quite honest. I did my best, I did my very, very best. To be quite honest with you I feel so bad about it all, I just feel like getting a bottle of whiskey and getting drunk!"

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