DETERMINED Darlington manager Tommy Wright says he will not resign.

His team were beaten by the division’s bottom club at Blackwell Meadows on Saturday, Nuneaton Borough winning 2-1.

It was only their third win of the season and it was followed by a heated confrontation beside the dugouts, some of Darlington's frustrated fans making their point clear.

Wright had been the target of chants of from a section of fans in the second half, but is determined to carry on after just over a year in charge with Quakers sixth-bottom of the table, two points above the relegation zone.

“I’m not resigning, I’m determined to turn this around,” he said.

“I won’t let this situation beat me. I understand football, I know how these situations work.

"At the end of the game, I told the lads in the dressing room that I won’t be resigning, and I said the same to the directors.

"The majority of people don’t know the circumstances that we’re working under, and that it’s difficult to build a team at the moment. I still think that we’ll be fine, and we’ll sort this out. We’ll all keep trying hard.”

A week ago, after midfielder Dave Syers joined Farsley, chief executive David Johnston explained he had cut the budget available to Wright, who spent the last week looking for fresh blood.

He brought in Williams Kokolo on loan from Sunderland, and he had a very promising debut on the left wing, and Wright's hoping to bring more new faces in before going to second-top Chorley on Saturday.

Reinforcements are needed. Wright’s team selection was hampered by defender Liam Hughes, midfielder Alex Henshall and forward Simon Ainge were all being ruled out because of injury, so academy players with an average age of 17 filled the bench.

Quakers started the game well, with Harvey Saunders wide with one chance, then Nuneaton goalkeeper Cameron Belford blocked another from skipper Stephen Thompson ten yards out.

Kokolo displayed plenty of pace and ability in the opening stages, and his low left-foot shot was well saved by Belford, and Saunders, with his back to goal, put an overhead kick from the rebound over the bar.

But Quakers went a goal down just before half time, when Dior Angus crossed to the far post where Ryan Edmunds had time to chest the ball down and fire past Jonny Maddison.

Darlington deservedly levelled on the hour when Jordan Nicholson picked the ball up 30 yards out, ran forward to the edge of the area, and beat Belford with a shot into the bottom corner for his sixth goal of the season.

However, the growing optimism was punctured ten minutes later, when Angus strode unchallenged into the Darlington box and fired into the roof of the net.

Quakers did not let their heads drop, and still created chances. Thompson had two penalty appeals, while Kokolo showed the best touch of the match when he turned his man in the box and fired in a low shot that Belford pushed away.

Wright was subdued but determined when he spoke afterwards.

“I thought for 43 minutes of the game, we dominated and didn’t take our chances,” he said. “That dominance deserved goals and I think the fans appreciated how well the boys were playing.

"We were on the front foot, there was energy, and everything we would want out of the start.

“We were 1-0 down, got back into it, and then eight minutes later the ball was in the back of our net for the second sloppy goal of the day. We talk about the basics of defending, but both goals were preventable.

“We worked really hard for our openings and chances, but ultimately it’s a game of football and the performance was completely irrelevant, it’s based on results.

“I’m not going to blame the players at all. In terms of the performance, it was fine, nothing wrong with that. The first half was probably one of the best 45s we’ve had for a long time, I thought it was up there with the Blyth game, and we probably created as many chances as that as well. But when the chips are down and your luck’s out, we haven’t taken our chances and we’ve been punished.

“The fans made their message clear, I heard what they were saying the first time, and I didn’t think the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth times were necessary.

"I said a month ago to the fans to support the team, it’s not about me. They can shout at me all day, to be honest, I’m beyond listening. I don’t think there’s much I can say (in that respect) that can make much of a difference. The lads came out fighting on Saturday, and that’s my priority.”