IN light of Darlington’s disappointing season so far, making new signings to freshen up the team has not been ruled out by manager Tommy Wright.

He has remained loyal to his players since assembling a new-look squad in the summer, when he signed seven players and allowed 11 to leave.

And while results have not been as hoped – Darlington are 15th in the table – the manager has eschewed opportunities to add fresh blood.

However, the manner of Friday’s FA Trophy defeat stung just as much as the defeat itself, Darlington deservedly losing 2-0 to a Telford United team that had a man sent off with just over half an hour to play yet were rarely in danger of conceding.

“If I get offered the right players, then maybe,” said Wright. “I’ve got to speak to the club and see what I can do.

“If I get chance to sign someone who is better than we’ve got, then yes I would take them as I want good players.

“The lads that we’ve got, although I think they’re good players, something isn’t clicking because we’re not winning games, so I’ve got to do something at some point.”

While Friday’s loss was Darlington’s fifth game without a win, the team are unbeaten in their last six league matches: two wins, four draws.

Nonetheless, their position in the table is well below pre-season hopes, and Friday’s full-time whistle was greeted by boos.

“The fans have done the shouting and booing for me and, as a player, that should hurt, that should be all they need to know,” added Wright.

“They shouldn’t have to hear it from me, I’m the one that has been loyal to them and stood by them. I’m the one that stands here and tries to convince people that they are a good team and good players.

“They can’t be because they’ve been beaten in both cup competitions and we’re 15th in the league. We’re not as good, maybe, as I thought we were. It needs to be better soon rather than later.

“I genuinely believe they are good players. They are lost at times and don’t handle going a goal down well, but I don’t think we handle that well as a club – that’s from myself, Whitey, the fans, nobody likes conceding goals. We’ve got to react better.

“Telford scored after 47 minutes, you’ve still nearly half of the game to go, we get corners and we get free-kicks, but I don’t see the desire to get on the end of it.

“Goalkeepers are claiming the ball against us – I’d rather we put him in the back of the net instead of giving him the satisfaction of claiming the ball and then setting up a counter-attack.

“If I was playing against Liam Hughes and Simon Ainge I’d expect to be roughed up a bit. Did I see that? Maybe a little bit, but I expected more.

“I don’t think it’s just desire, it’s a mixture of things. A lot of it is confidence, but we can’t hide behind that forever, people have to man up.”