Source: Northern_Echo
Darlington bidding to complete double over Millers
STEVE Staunton has warned his Darlington players they must be on their guard today as he believes opponents Rotherham United will travel to The Northern Echo Arena on a revenge mission.[LNB] Quakers recorded their maiden away win of the season by inflicting Rotherham's first home defeat with last month's surprise 2-1 victory.[LNB] The performance was easily Darlington's most impressive display of the season, but Staunton says the Millers will be motivated by manager Ronnie Moore.[LNB] That game's gone, it's in the past. You're only as good as your last game and we lost ours against Northampton,[LNB] said Staunton.[LNB] There were one or two errors in the Northampton game, not just individually, they were made more as a unit. If we had nipped them in the bud we could have at least got a draw.[LNB] It's going to be one hell of a game on Saturday. We watched them in midweek and I know Ronnie Moore is going to be fired up, not only because we beat them but also because of their performance on Tuesday night.[LNB] I'm expecting them to be all guns blazing from the off and we're going to have to match them. If we don't, then we're going to be in trouble.[LNB] They haven't been at the top of the division all season for no reason.[LNB] While Darlington had a free Tuesday, Rotherham lost 3-1 at home to Bournemouth, with a furious Moore calling the display totally unacceptable.[LNB] He added that at times it was spineless, and will make changes today, but Staunton is less likely to tinker with his line-up.[LNB] Whereas Quakers' last match, against Northampton 11 days ago, was also a home defeat, Staunton was relatively pleased with his team.[LNB] Among those who have earned acclaim are Gareth Waite, the former Spennymoor Town midfielder.[LNB] He was one of Staunton's eight January signings and made his debut in the memorable win at Rotherham.[LNB] Tadgh Purcell is grabbing the headlines because of his two goals but another major boost has been Gareth, said Staunton.[LNB] He's been outstanding in his three games, he has imposed himself and is finding his feet very quickly. If he can maintain that level and improve then I think we'll have found ourselves a good player.[LNB] I felt we needed to break him in gently at what is a higher level of football for him, but he has taken it to it like a duck to water.[LNB] I felt against Northampton I would put him into the middle because of his size and his power. He loves a tackle and he can get box-tobox.[LNB] He will improve technically and in the last game he showed quicker feet, so he's getting used to this level.[LNB] Another to have made the step up from non-league is left-back Stuart Giddings, who joined in November from Hinkley United. He is expected to start today, though there is increased pressure on his place following this week's arrival of Richie Byrne. The 28-year-old can play as a left-sided full-back or in the centre of defence and will bolster a squad that has a lot of catching up to do with so many postponed games still to play.[LNB] Richie has played in Scotland, in England with Oldham and has played in Ireland, so he has plenty of experience. He's a tough boy, a no-nonsense defender, he's a good talker and will add to the squad, said Staunton, whose side are at home to Lincoln on Tuesday.[LNB] We've got a massive period of matches between now and Easter which are going to define where we end up this season. The most important thing is to try to build momentum by getting results and building confidence.[LNB] There's been a marked improvement in the three games we've had since the break.[LNB] For two-and-a-half of those we've been at a level that is somewhere near what I expect of us. Playing well for two-and-a-half games out of three would do, but we need to keep improving and hopefully things will turn around.[LNB]
