Darlington manager Gary Bennett is closing in on a new striker.

But Quakers won't be changing their no-fee policy and Bennett admitted: "Even some players available on a free would want somewhere around £150,000 a year.

"The chairman isn't wanting to go down that road again. Some clubs are losing money heavily, and others have got transfer embargoes placed on them. Our chairman is nipping it in the bud now, whereas some other clubs are trying when it's too far down the line."

Bennett expects to see another improvement in his young "pups" after their morale-boosting win over Sudbury last Saturday.

Bennett gave three players under 21 a full outing - Thomas Butler, Kevin Kyle and Richard Hodgson - while another, Mark Kilty, came on as a sub for the last ten minutes.

"Some players in the squad haven't even played half a dozen games in the Football League," he said.

"They're not seasoned pros, they're young pups. Kevin Kyle, for example, has only played three full games since the end of last season, so people have to be patient.

"It is a new experience for him and the others. They're going to get better with the games they play. If they keep progressing , then the club will be healthy."

Midfielder Hodgson believes Saturday's 6-1 win will have given everyone a confidence lift ahead of the trip to Blackpool this Saturday.

Hodgson grabbed his first senior goals in the second half, and said: "We all felt a lot more confident after we went into the lead.

"I've been wanting to score my first goal for ages, and I thought it wasn't going to be my day when I hit the bar in the first half."

Quakers have arranged their LDV Vans Trophy game at York for Tuesday December 5th.

Quakers' reserve game with Wrexham tomorrow is a 7pm kick-off.