Source: Northern_Echo
Cooper hoping trio will stay put
Darlington manager Mark Cooper is busy tempting players to move to The Northern Echo Arena, but he hopes three of his current squad will extend their stays.[LNB] He is confident that Paul Arnison, Paul Terry and Sam Russell will all put pen to paper after they were offered one-year deals.[LNB] Bradford City were keen on Russell, but the Teessider would prefer to stay with Quakers where he is firstchoice while there is no guarantee he would hold the same status at the Coral Windows Stadium.[LNB] I think Sam Russell has agreed to stay, said Cooper.[LNB] He doesn't want to leave and if he looks as it, he's got to be a number one keeper at his game.[LNB] He's back home, he's enjoying it and he's playing. He knows that with us, when he's fit and in form he will play.[LNB] So I think they all have big bearings on him wanting to stay.[LNB] However, Cooper is not so confident that Aman Verma will join.[LNB] The midfielder spent most of the season on loan with Quakers and played in the FA Trophy final win as a substitute after replacing the injured Gary Smith.[LNB] The 23-year-old has been released by hometown club Leicester City and has been offered a one-year deal by Darlington, but Cooper admitted: I think he'll get a bigger club or he will go on trial somewhere, maybe to a Football League club.[LNB] He was fantastic in the final and we've made him a good offer to stay, but I think he'll go elsewhere.[LNB] The knee injury sustained by Smith at Wembley has put his future in jeopardy.[LNB] He is out of contract this summer and has not been offered a new deal.[LNB] Cooper admitted: Gary needs an operation and more than likely is going to miss most, if not all, of next season.[LNB] We're still trying to sort out what we're doing regarding insurance, the operation and things like that. He's got to have an op, but as it stands at the minute it's a difficult situation for us.[LNB] It's a cruciate knee injury like Paul Terry, but Gary ruptured his medial knee ligament as well. The prognosis was six to nine months minimum.[LNB] It's a blow to him and he's out of contract as well so it's not ideal. He's done alright for us, but we've got to make sure we bring the right sort of replacement in.[LNB] Fellow midfielder Gareth Waite was released at the end of an injury-ravaged year that saw him undergo two knee operations and now requires a third to clear up a cruciate ligament problem.[LNB] Cooper says he was offered the opportunity to train with Quakers. He said: We spoke to Gareth around March or April time. We knew he wasn't going to be quite fit enough, we said as soon as you're fit enough you can come back and train to try and earn a new deal.[LNB] He was told that in March, but I think he is going to choose to have an operation which will be his third on his knee so that will rule him out for a lot longer than pre-season.[LNB] Meanwhile, Darlington have announced they will play at Sheffield on Tuesday, July 26 (7.30pm) while Quakers' game at Newton Aycliffe has been switched to Tuesday, August 2 (7.30pm).[LNB]
