PRE-SEASON is over, the friendlies are finished and the real action now begins for Darlington who can be pleased with their progress over the summer under the guidance of Alun Armstrong.

The true test comes on Saturday at Farsley Celtic, of course, when the competitive matches begin, followed by Gateshead at home on Wednesday.

But the standards of both fitness and play in pre-season in friendlies appeared to be higher than 12 months ago, enthusing supporters about what lies ahead.

What supporters are not always privy to, however, is the changing room camaraderie, an essential factor in any successful squad, which could conceivably have taken time to create given the upheaval this year.

In creating a new-look squad Armstrong has brought in 13 new players, plundering Blyth Spartans for six of their team, and the manager says there is already good morale among the group.

He said: “What we’ve got is good lads and no egos in that dressing room, none whatsoever. I think you can see it on the pitch, they’re all working hard for each other and that’s probably been the most pleasing thing for me.”

Long-serving Stephen Thompson, a survivor of the cull at the end of last season, added: “The team spirit is brilliant already and that will just continue to grow. No individuals, just lads wanting to work as hard as possible for each other.”

What no doubt contributes towards the current good feeling that the players appear to be enjoying their football.

Armstrong explained: “They’re all good footballers and I’m asking them to do what they’re good at, that’s the way I always work, I’m not asking them to do anything other than that.

“You put little pieces of the jigsaw together and you could see that last Saturday against Middlesbrough that it’s working well.

“Nothing has changed from Blyth in what I do. Yes, I want to be more solid and more mobile in the middle of the park and Will Hatfield has brought that mettle in there that we need. He’s on the front foot, he’s aggressive in everything he does.

“At the minute I’m happy. We still need to improve. But what I like about our lads is that they’ll win the ball back and they keep digging in.

“They’ll never hear me having a go at them for making a mistake, that happens in football, it’s about how you react to it.”

Armstrong likes to generate a positive atmosphere in the changing room, and he said: “I give them support, and you let them enjoy it. I build relationships with players where I get to know what makes them tick and that’s how I work, Daz is the same.

“We work individually with players, giving them information one-on-one instead of saying ‘you lot do this’.”

Assistant manager Darren Holloway followed Armstrong from Blyth to Blackwell and the pair will be on the touchline at the grandly titled The Citadel, formerly known as the Throstle Nest, for their first competitive Quakers match.

“Daz is a great personality,” added Armstrong. “He’s a good coach and helped massively at Blyth. We’ve been together for three years and he knows what he’s talking about.

“He’ll get on well with the lads but if it’s not going right he’ll certainly tell them. He’s more of the bad cop, he likes to have a go and I try to speak to the lads. I can blow my lid but I’d rather restrain and be thoughtful and progressive in what I’m saying to them.”

“Me and him will be in the dressing room all the time with the lads, we’ll have banter all the time, but there is a line. They will know when we’re serious and they will know when there’s a job to do.

“But you do need good morale. You need them on your side and you need to back your players as well, it’s give and take.

“But they’ve been smashing, every single one of them apart from one or two from last year.”

Of last year’s squad, now that Mitchell Glover has gone only Jonny Burn is personae non gratae, but Luke Trotman, Terry Galbraith and Thompson are all firmly in Armstrong’s plans.

Competitive debuts at Farsley will be handed to most of the 13 players Armstrong has brought in.

The total of recruits rises to 14 if including Omar Holness, the Jamaican midfielder whose contract expired at the of last season but impressed the new manager while on trial.

His chances of starting at Farsley in the centre of the pitch alongside Will Hatfield increase if midfielder David Atkinson is unable to feature, but he is confident of playing despite suffering a foot injury a fortnight ago.