Michael Bridges may have served a painful reminder of what Darlington have sorely missed this season, but David Hodgson refused to dwell over the one that got away.
Bridges demonstrated his undoubted qualities in scoring Carlisle's third in Saturday's 5-0 demolition.
In November, the former Sunderland and Newcastle striker was on the verge of joining Quakers.
But with Quakers unable to meet the 27-year-old's wage demands, Bridges moved to Brunton Park.
On Saturday, the Tynesider took his tally to 11 in 18 appearances for the Cumbrians.
"How can we have any regrets about someone we couldn't afford?" said Hodgson. "He wanted to come but we couldn't give him what we wanted."
Poor attendances at the 96.6 TFM Darlington Arena have restricted Hodgson to what he can spend.
Compared to Darlington's average of 4,155 this season, crowds averaging around the 6,100 mark have enabled League Two leaders Carlisle to sign players of Bridges' calibre.
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Read more about the Quakers here.
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