ASSISTANT boss Terry Mitchell has thanked the "brilliant" supporters for the role they've played in Darlington's superb revival.

Quakers climbed out of National League North's relegation zone for the first time this season thanks to their impressive 2-1 victory at Blyth on Tuesday night.

It was Darlington's sixth win in their last eight outings - remarkable considering Quakers had only won six of their 31 games prior. They're now two points clear of the drop zone.

Mitchell and boss Steve Watson are refusing to get carried away and attention has swiftly turned to another big game on Saturday when Peterborough Sports - who are just five points ahead of Quakers in the table - visit Blackwell Meadows.

But Mitchell has urged the fans to continue to play their part after being blown away by the support since he joined the club in December.

"From day one here, I thought wow," he said.

"The support has been fantastic and the noise from start to finish on Tuesday was great.

"There's nothing better than getting a win. We've needed the backing. Ever since Steve and myself have come in, they've been brilliant.

"We still want them to continue that, there will be ups and downs and they have a huge part to play. We really need them to keep backing the lads.  The lads are loving the support they're giving them, so a big thanks from myself, Steve and all the lads."

Matty Cornish scored a stunner to set Darlington on their way to victory at Blyth before Cameron Salkeld added the second just after the hour mark. The hosts halved the deficit late on but Quakers saw out the deserved victory - with Sunderland loanee Matty Young once again impressing in goal.

Mitchell said: "Matty is absolutely loving it. We've just been speaking to Sunderland's head coach there, we're delighted.

"It's win win. We're helping his development. He's been absolutely outstanding since he came in, nobody would think he's 17. Some of the saves he's made have been great. Sunderland are happy, we've been happy.

"He got the break because Tommy (Taylor) got the injury but I have to say Tommy has been great around him, really supporting the lad as well. A big thanks to Tommy, he's shown what a real team player he is."

Mitchell was also full of praise for Tuesday night's goalscorers.

"Matty has been great," he said.

"He's been a breath of fresh air. He runs, runs and runs and he's a very good footballer.

"Cam has been brilliant. He's scored again, but what he did for the team, his work ethic without the ball, he ran his socks off. I'm delighted for him, he's been in and out but since he's come back in he's been fantastic.

"What we were most pleased about is how the lads took on board what we were saying at half-time. First half we thought we started OK but then just dropped so deep. Blyth played some good football and were getting on top and we had to get in at half-time. It was a bit tweaking here and there and in the second half we showed what a good team we are with the ball. 

"Towards the end what was most pleasing was how well we defended the box. When teams put you under pressure, we've had to defend corners. The lads stayed calm and it was a great all-round performance."

Darlington's squad will link up for training on Thursday night as the focus turns to Saturday.

Mitchell said: "We've had a couple of Thursdays off but we now have a few back that we think need some work.

"There'll not be a lot of work for the lads that have played the full 90 minutes in games. We'll do a bit of video work on Peterborough and do a light session. We'll look after the lads because they're all going to be needed."