IT is up to Darlington’s players, says Tommy Wright, to prove they can return to the standards set before their mini run of good form came to an abrupt halt seven days ago.

Before last weekend’s 5-2 defeat at Kidderminster Harriers his side were unbeaten in three fixtures with two draws and a win, and Quakers put in good performances in each outing.

They beat Brackley 4-2, and were unfortunate not to take maximum points against Spennymoor Town (2-2), when they conceded a late equaliser, and Blyth Spartans (1-1).

At home to Blyth last time out at Blackwell Meadows Darlington enjoyed the vast majority of possession but a combination of profligacy and bad fortune – they hit the woodwork twice and had goals ruled out by the officials - prevented further goals.

But then Quakers went to Kidderminster and never looked like winning, particularly after Joe Wheatley was sent off early on.

“It’s alright me saying it was a blip on Saturday and that they were brilliant in the three games before, but the proof is in the response,” said Wright, whose team are at home to Altrincham today.

“That’s what it’s about now, it’s about bouncing back from what was a disappointing Saturday afternoon.

“Everyone can have an excuse, but I don’t want to make excuses for the lads if they don’t back it up. It’s up to the lads now.”

Wright has been reluctant to be critical of his team’s efforts at Aggborough, not only pointing out they had played well beforehand but also saying the dismissal was a major factor in the result.

“The game was taken away from us on 17 minutes. It wasn’t malicious from Wheats so I’m not blaming him,” said the manager.

“Had we played 11 v 11 we still might not have won the game, but we might have won it too, it’s all what, ifs and maybes now.

“We lost a game with ten men, there’s no point dissecting it more than that.

“A lot of the lads were off the pace were off the pace for the first 17 minutes, but they get an excuse for the rest of the game.

“Saturday is a different game, we have had two bright training sessions and hopefully we’ll get back to winning ways on Saturday and have out first home win.”

Wheatley’s red card, awarded a after a foul on Declan Weeks and adjudged to have been an act of serious foul play, means he serves a three-match suspension starting today.

Despite the repercussions, Wright has not admonished the 21-year-old midfielder, acknowledging the incident was unintentional.

The manager said: “He’s devastated. It was the first red card of his senior career, but he’ll learn from it and we don’t want to dwell on it.

“He’ll bounce back from it, and we’ve been quite light-hearted about it.

“We gave him a red bib on Tuesday, every time he missed a shot we said ‘that’s another weakness in your game and you can’t tackle’.

“He’s been a revelation since he came into the team, he’s getting stronger and stronger and is on the right path to get where he wants to be.

“One step a time though. He knows he’s got a job to do at Darlington, he thinks he can achieve things here and ultimately that’s why he committed to us.”

In the Altrincham team will be forward Jordan Hulme, a player who became familiar to Quakers during his time with Ramsbottom United and Salford City.

Last season he netted 31 times in 54 appearances as Altrincham won promotion back to the National League North at the first attempt, and has added another four goals in the current campaign.

“He’s been bright this season and was top of the scoring charts last season,” said Wright.

“He’s a formidable forward and one we’ve spoken about in the group, and we’ll speak about him again before the game on Saturday.

“We’ll watch him closely, and their team look a threat. We’ve seen weaknesses that we think we can exploit and we think we’ve put all of that information across.”

Altrincham are 13th, level on five points with Darlington in 14th. Both teams have one win, two draws and two defeats.