DARLINGTON boss Alun Armstrong will begin assembling a new-look squad soon and, while there is tough competition for the best available players in the region, he believes there is “value for money” available.

Quakers this week announced that Armstrong will begin his tenure as manager Monday, once he has served a one-week notice period after resigning from Blyth Spartans.

Naturally, however, Armstrong’s thoughts have quickly turned to bolstering a Darlington squad that currently has only nine players, and he will be operating in a competitive market.

There are North-East non-league clubs with their eyes on the same targets, with Blyth players understood to be in demand, but Quakers’ new man at the helm does not want players motivated by money.

“There is plenty of value for money out there now and I think you’ll see that in the next couple of weeks,” said Armstrong.

“There’s plenty of players around and there’s the lads coming out of the academies that I know about, especially the ones at Middlesbrough where I worked for five or six years. The lads there are 18 or 19, I used to coach when they were 14, 15 or 16, so I know who is there.

“It’s about getting players who fit into the wage structure, who fit into how I want them to play. I don’t want players here for the money, that’s the last thing I want.

“Long-term they will be rewarded by getting into the National League, maybe we can go full-time in the future, that’s what these players should be looking at, that’s when the bonuses come.

“I’ve earmarked players that I would like to bring in, but there’s nothing I can do at the moment until Monday, it’s up to Darlington to do their bit.”

Blyth defender David Atkinson and winger Jarrett Rivers among those understood to be on Armstrong’s wanted list, while he is also working on putting together a backroom team.

He was assisted at Blyth by Darren Holloway and Neal Hooks, and between them they enjoyed three good seasons at Croft Park, and that made Armstrong’s decision to leave a difficult one to deliver.

He said: “It was hard to do what I did. I told the chairman, Tony Platten, on Sunday morning and the phone call was hard to make because I loved it up at Blyth after everything we did up there and I got on really well with the fans, it was an extremely tough call, harder than I thought it would be.

“But the opportunity with Darlington is perfect, the timing is perfect.

“They are not expecting instant success and we have to be a little bit sensible financially. It’s a long-term plan that I’ve come for.

“There’s a lot to fix but it’ got to be done sustainably with a long-term target. There would be no point in going up and then coming straight back down, the club needs to be ready off the pitch as well.”