TOMMY Taylor last night welcomed the return of five players ahead of a hectic spell of fixtures.

Taylor takes his Darlington side to Kidderminster this afternoon, boosted by the return of Brian Atkinson, Mark Ford, Simon Betts, Richard Hodgson and Phil Brumwell, while long-term victims Craig Liddle and Adam Reed are also nearing fitness.

And with Tuesday's FA Cup clash with Peterborough the first of eight successive midweek games for Quakers, Taylor headed for the Midlands yesterday a happy man.

He said: "The better the squad is, the better the team is on a Saturday and we need as many bodies as possible because of all the games we have coming up.

"Fifty per cent of the team won't be able to play in all of these matches simply because they'll have to give 100 per cent in all of them and you can't do that three times a week.

"The way things have been going recently, we're bound to get someone injured at Kidderminster - that's odds on."

This afternoon is only Quakers' second Saturday game in five weeks and since his last outing at Bristol Rovers a fortnight ago, when Taylor was forced to send out an inexperienced team, he now faces a selection dilemma.

At the Memorial Stadium he was forced into fielding several reserve regulars and handed David McGurk and Gary Pearson their full League debuts. Although nobody let Taylor down at Bristol, particularly Pearson, who enjoyed an excellent game in midfield, the boss is bound to make changes with so many first-teamers back in contention.

Atkinson, Ford, Betts and Hodgson all look likely to start, while Brumwell is also in contention after suspension.

Reed proved his fitness by making two 90-minute appearances for the second string side in midweek but Taylor doesn't believe he's sharp enough to return to the first team just yet.

Although some players who featured at Bristol may feel harshly treated if they're asked to step down today, Taylor is adamant he must field the strongest team available at Kidderminster, where Quakers won 1-0 in the first round of the FA Cup.

"The boys don't have a problem with me changing the side and if any of them do, they shouldn't be professionals," said Taylor.

"I thought Pearson was magnificent at Bristol and so was Steve Harper, but there was a mistake for their goal and it's mistakes like that which cost points.

"I've got to be honest though, nobody has let me down since I came here."

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