Source: Northern_Echo
Loan striker makes an extension plea
Darlington striker James Collins wants to stay at the club and help Quakers in their fight against relegation, though he admits that his future is out of his hands. He is on loan from Aston Villa and has so far scored two goals in five appearances, including an impressive strike when he came off the bench at Chesterfield last week. The 19-year-old will be in the squad that travels to promotion- chasing Notts County tomorrow and says the experience he is gaining with Darlington is important. I'm enjoying it with Darlington, said Collins. If the option was there I would be happy to stay here for the whole season. Getting experience of league football is so valuable and I would like that but it's something I would have to sit down and talk to the gaffer about and Villa would have a say. You never know he (Steve Staunton) may not want to keep me here at Darlington but when the time comes we'll talk it through. Collins has been joined at The Northern Echo Arena by Villa reserves team-mate Jonathan Hogg. The gaffer has been interested in Hoggy for a while but he was injured. It's great to have him up here, he's my mate, added Collins. We became good mates at Villa I've known him for a number of years. The fact that the gaffer has kept close links with Villa was a major factor in my coming here. He is close friends with our reserve manager Kevin MacDonald and they share the same sort of approach to coaching so that helps my progress. It's not like I've left Villa and its totally different on the training pitch here, it feels good and a natural part of my progression as a player. Collins' eye-catching goal at Chesterfield last weekend was a long-range strike after the hosts' keeper had strayed off his line. It could not prevent Quakers from losing they went on to lose 5-2 yet Collins was quick to play the strike down. He explained: It was just an instinctive finish. I'd like to think I've scored better goals than that even though it was a nice strike. I'm not too fussed about scoring glory goals and the fact that we didn't take a point from the game is what matters. At Notts County tomorrow Darlington will be looking to quickly put behind them last Tuesday's hugely disappointing home defeat to Morecambe. Quakers were stunned by the 4-0 loss and manager Steve Staunton has reacted by bringing in the more loan players in the shape of defenders Andrew Milne, Danny Hall and midfielder Paul Harsley. That takes the number of loan players with the club to six, but Staunton will not be able to use them all at Meadow Lane as clubs are restricted to selecting a maximum of five loan players per match. Although Darlington were not in action at the weekend they did marginally fall further behind second-bottom Grimsby Town who drew at Macclesfield. In the only League Two game played originally scheduled for tomorrow the Mariners extended the gap between themselves and Quakers to six points with a 0-0 draw. It was Grimsby's fourth draw in five games, though former Darlington striker Adam Proudlock narrowly missed a chance to take the points as he struck a post late on. Meanwhile, Port Vale's defeat to Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup on Saturday means that Quakers' home clash with the Valiants on January 2 remains unaffected. That is when Port Vale are due to visit the North-East, while it is also the date set aside for the third round of the FA Cup. Had the Valiants won on Saturday then their trip to The Northern Echo Arena would have been postponed. Former Darlington striker Gregg Blundell, who left Chester to sign on loan for Barrow last week, made his debut in Saturday's FA Cup 1- 1 draw at Oxford United. Barrow also featured former Quakers Robin Hulbert and Carlos Logan. The winners of the replay will play at Sunderland in round three.