LOSING key players during the early days of the season is a test not only of Darlington’s ever decreasing squad, but also of the Alun Armstrong’s ability to get the best out of those that remain available for action.

On Saturday Quakers are at Blackwell Meadows against unbeaten Southport, the only team in the division yet to concede a goal, five days after Darlington suffered an error-strewn 3-1 defeat at Curzon Ashton.

It promises to be a tough game for Quakers, who this this week learned they will be without forward Jamie Holmes due to a cruciate ligament injury for six months, news which came days after losing right-back Luke Trotman for a lengthy spell too.

Furthermore, David Atkinson has missed all four league matches so far due to injury while Stephen Thompson is unavailable.

Nonetheless, Armstrong retains confidence in his players.

He said: “I built a squad which is strong enough to compete in the top ten of this league but we’ve been hit by major blows and it’s going to test me and it’s going to test the players.

“We’ll not be able to rest players when we want to, so it puts more demand on the players and it’s up to me to try and manage that properly.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but we’ve got enough in that dressing room to get enough points on the board because there’s good players in that team.”

Armstrong is contemplating giving a first start to Atkinson in the heart of midfield since he suffered a foot injury during pre-season.

The manager, however, is being cautious in his approach, saying: “He’s going to be available but I have got to think about it logically. My heart wants him in there, but I’ve got to think with my head.

“If he aggravates it and is out for six weeks then we are knackered.

“I’ve got to be careful so it’s going to be a tough one to decide. I need him back, but is it worth risking him?”

After four appearances as a substitute, Bermudan international Justin Donawa is in contention to make his first start, though Armstrong intends to bring in new signings in a few weeks’ time.

He said: “We’re probably looking at bringing in a right-back and another attacking player, whether on loan or something else. Maybe we can get something sorted financially to try and fills those voids until the end of the season.

“And Justin and Osagi Bascome go out on international duty in September so we will have that to deal with later on.”

Bermuda play Panama twice in September on dates coinciding with Darlington’s games at home to Blyth Spartans and away to Gloucester City.

Terry Galbraith returns to the starting line-up after being rested on Monday, a decision Armstrong effectively reversed midway through the second half when he sent on the skipper to replace Josh Heaton.

“Tez played with a dead leg against Kettering and I wasn’t sure if Josh was ready, but I didn’t want to risk Tez again on Monday,” explained Armstrong. “You’ve got to manage the workload of your players.

“I’ve spoken to Josh. He was fine for 40 minutes and then the fatigue and the tiredness kicked in a little bit, which ultimately is going to happen when he’s not been playing. But how else do you get the lad fit?

“It’s not going to get him fit playing in reserve and under-23 games, so we’ve got to bite the bullet.

“We need more cover around him at times until he gets to 100 per cent, but he’ll get there I’m sure.”

Whereas Quakers’ goal at Curzon was a team move involving seven players and ten passes, the same could not be said of the three they conceded.

“We’ve looked at the goals and it’s basics,” said Armstrong. “Our goal was outstanding compared to theirs and you’re wondering how we’ve got to do that, really good football to get through teams to score, when all they had to do was boot it through the middle.

“That was frustrating and we’ve got to learn from it quickly because other teams will try it now.

“Southport are similar, they’ve got a big lad and they’ll lump it to him. We’ve done work on Thursday to try and get it sorted.”

Southport have won two and drawn two, putting them fourth in the embryonic league table having won 3-0 on Tuesday at Farsley where Darlington lost 3-1 a fortnight ago.