ALUN: WATCH US GO NEXT SEASON
ALUN ARMSTRONG believes Darlington supporters will see the best of his side next season.
The former Ipswich and Middlesbrough striker has overseen a mass overhaul of the Quakers squad since taking over at the club last summer.
Armstrong quickly got stuck into the task of reshaping his newly-inherited squad by persuading the likes of Guiseley midfielder Will Hatfield and former Newcastle striker Adam Campbell to move to Blackwell Meadows.
Armstrong also went back to former club Blyth Spartans to add the likes of Michael Liddle, Jordan Watson and Jarrett Rivers to his ranks.
The revamped Quakers squad took time to settle but an eight-game unbeaten run during September and October took the club into the first round of the FA Cup and into contention for a National League North play-off place.
With the current campaign now on hold, Darlington still have an outside chance of securing a top seven place – but Armstrong insisted that his main aim is to get his squad ready to fire next season. “I am relatively pleased with how we have done this season,” he told The NLP.
“I think we did too well, too quickly – and everyone expected us to reach the play-offs. “Some of the football has been fantastic to watch and I think the supporters would tell you that.
Rebuild
“But the aim was to rebuild this season, get a squad together to make the club financially stable and then we’d know what we needed for next season.”
He continued: “I wanted to change the style of football to get the fans back on board and then we will see if we can have a go next season if the finances are right.
“I am still planning; we are still working on next season and there are massive pieces of the jigsaw to put in place.”
Armstrong explained why he
chose to overhaul the Quakers squad rather than retaining a number of players that had joined the club under former manager Tommy Wright. With only a handful of players remaining from last season’s squad, Armstrong believes that he will now be able to move the club forwards in a more sustainable manner.
He said: “When you look at what we have brought in, we are a million miles away from where we were. I came in and we had nine players taking up three-quarters of the budget, so I had to strip it back and start all over again.
“When I spoke to Darlington, I said that I could work with those players and bring in loan players, or I could bring in the players I want but it would take a two or three-year plan.
“I look at where we are now and I think if I had had this squad at the start of the season, I firmly believe we would be in the playoffs places.
“We are still missing a couple of bits, but we are moving in the right direction and that’s got to be viewed as a positive.”