Cooper sets target for play-off spot

22 March 2011 10:58
THEY might be off to Wembley, but Darlington boss Mark Cooper has set his players a target of nine wins from their last 12 matches as he attempts to refocus on the remainder of the league campaign.[LNB] Quakers are unbeaten in their last 11 league and cup matches, and while they remain 11 points off the play-off places, they retain a promotion chance due to their number of games in hand.[LNB] With 12 games to play, Darlington will complete a quarter of their season in the last six weeks of the season, and manager Mark Cooper has set a target of at least nine victories if his side are to finish in the top five.[LNB] He said: We think we've got to win nine or ten out of our 12 games, but we're on a good run now one defeat in 18 so we've got to keep going and make sure that we do things properly and professionally to win as many games as we can.[LNB] Cooper will begin the ninewin target by tinkering with his side this evening. Four players were cup-tied in the Trophy games Adam Quinn, Greg Taylor, John McReady and Michael Smith and they will all come into contention, while Paul Terry is keen to get involved after recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury.[LNB] Midfielder Jamie Chandler sustained a broken hand on Saturday and although he was able to continue, he must wear a cast if he is to keep his place.[LNB] Cooper said: We've got a number of players cup-tied that come back into the reckoning.[LNB] We might need to freshen things up, which is why we've got a decent squad and we might need to use them all.[LNB] Cooper was manager at Kettering for two-and-a-half years before leaving in November 2009 for a short-lived spell at Peterborough United.[LNB] He returned to Rockingham Road on the second Saturday of the season when Quakers drew 0-0, but the squad that Cooper built is much-changed since then and will include only four players who featured that day in August.[LNB] In contrast to Darlington, 15th-placed Kettering are in poor form having conceded 12 goals in their last five games and lost six out of their seven matches on the road.[LNB] Darlington captain Ian Miller is one player unlikely to make way this evening.[LNB] He has been a bedrock of the defence, not missing a minute of the action in the club's last 30 games, and he is hoping for a continuation of the vociferous support that the team received on Saturday at Gateshead.[LNB] He said: The Trophy is in the back of our minds now and we're looking to cement a place in the play-offs.[LNB] The fans were unbelievable on Saturday, that's what we need at the Arena. It looked like our fans outnumbered their fans and they never stopped singing throughout.[LNB] Fair play to them for coming on the pitch afterwards and hopefully they'll bring their mates along on Tuesday night and help us push for the play-offs.[LNB]

Source: Northern_Echo