Hone and Hatch to make final Quakers appearance

31 December 2010 10:38
AFTER a spate of postponements Darlington make their long-awaited return to action tomorrow, however, for two players the trip to Fleetwood Town will mark their last appearance for the club.[LNB] Danny Hone and Liam Hatch, who have formed a central defensive partnership, have been on six-month loan spells which expire after tomorrow's game.[LNB] Hone is the only outfield player not to have missed a minute of action this season, but parent club Lincoln City require his services at Sincil Bank.[LNB] Quakers boss Mark Cooper said: I think he's done well for us, but I've made no secret of the fact I want to improve the team. Circumstances dictate that he won't be staying with us so that's that.[LNB] Hatch's contract at Peterborough expires at the end of the season so, to avoid losing him for free in the summer, they wish to sell him now.[LNB] It is understood Grimsby Town have beaten Quakers to the 28-year-old's signature, and Cooper said: I believe he's agreed a two-and-a-halfyear deal with another Conference club. To get that length of deal at this level is fantastic and there's no way we can compete with that.[LNB] It's come down to length of contract really. There's an awful lot of players and we've got to make sure that if we are spending decent money that we spend it in the right way.[LNB] I'm not saying Hatchy wasn't worth the money, he'd done well for us, but he might be just out of our price range.[LNB] Notts County defender Graeme Lee would slot into the Darlington defence if Cooper is able to convince the 32-year-old to move to The Northern Echo Arena.[LNB] He is one of several transfer targets that Cooper has in mind, but the manager has had to put his interest in Mansfield Town striker Paul Connor on hold.[LNB] On Tuesday The Northern Echo revealed Darlington's interest in the striker, who has scored ten goals this season, but the Stags turned down Quakers' offer.[LNB] We enquired about Paul Connor and we did make an offer for him, but it was turned down, said Cooper.[LNB] He's a Bishop Auckland boy and has scored a lot of goals this season. He would've improved us but obviously it was not to be.[LNB] Mansfield do not want to sell their best players so that's where we are with that one.[LNB] That's the kind of player we're looking at, but sometimes you can't have what you want and bear in mind his contract is up at the end of the season so we might have the option of taking him for nothing then.[LNB] Lee, out of contract at Meadow Lane next summer, was told last month that he will be allowed to leave Notts County for free in January.[LNB] Cooper said: He's the sort of centre-back we'd love to have. He's got great experience and he's still got plenty of time left.[LNB] He's from Middlesbrough and would be a real coup for us if we could get that kind of player. The chairman is working hard.[LNB] Although Hone and Hatch's loan spells end tomorrow, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Jefferson Louis will be eligible for a further week.[LNB] Their loans, from Carlisle United and Gainsborugh Trinity respectively, expire on January 8 while Aman Verma's temporary switch from Leicester City has been extended to February.[LNB]

Source: Northern_Echo