While welcoming his former Liverpool teammate into the management game probably the best thing David Hodgson could've done was to hand out the beating Ian Rush's side deserved. At least that way he'll have soon got to realise just what he's got to work with at Chester which, on Saturday's showing, is not a lot.

Darlington hardly exerted themselves in coasting past a poor team, meaning Rush got to see just how big a task he's taken on while it also coincided with the visit an old pal, enabling him to gain some priceless first-hand advise on how to survive at the coal face of football management. So the Liverpool legend probably couldn't have timed his entrance into the world of football management much better.

Not only did his seat from the stands offer a, perhaps unfortunately so, perfect view of Chester's horror show, but Rush was able to take in a few lessons from the David Hodgson managerial masterclass, followed by some one-to-one tuition from the man himself.

Although, with due respect to the Darlington boss, his current mantra - 'we need a striker' - was probably adopted by Rush quicker than Hodgson had chance to impart with his gems of knowledge - Chester have now scored just twice in six matches and it was easy to see why.

Post-match the former Liverpool strikers pair stayed on the Deva Stadium pitch for a lentghy chat, with Hodgson later revealing he'd been offering football management's newest recruit tips on how to succeed in a position the Darlington boss has been in for the best part of ten years.

Two decades ago the pair were both strikers at Anfield during Liverpool's glory days and although Rush went on to achieve much more with the Reds, it's taken him a lot longer to make the step into the dug-out.

Twenty years ago when the pair were both strikers in the Liverpool squad and Rush was the Anfield golden boy, perhaps the roles would've been reversed with Hodgson, never the most prolific, the beneficiary of the hitman's shooting school.

But 21 years after leaving Liverpool to continue his career elsewhere, leaving Rush to become an all-time great, it's Hodgson welcoming his former team-mate into the brotherhood of managementship and he said: "I'm amazed he went for the job. He's been out of football for a while but I bet that in his heart he's been dying for the opportunity to get a manager's job.

"I gave him two pieces of advice: never let a director or a chairmen dictate to you, stand your ground on every issue whenever you feel it's right for he club. Just like I've done with Darlington before.

"And I told him not to expect his players to play at the standard that we did, he must try to adjust mentally and then he won't get frustrated. Nearly ten years down the road I still get frustrated now when players do something inadequate or don't do what I ask of them.

"Proc is working wonders for me, he makes me sit in the dug-out, he doesn't let me get up and blast them as much and he won't let me speak at the end of the game if he knows I'm going to say something I shouldn't!

"So as long as he gets someone in like that he's got half a chance.

"Having worked in front-line all his life he'll need to know that you can't every game 4-3 like I did when I first started, because some weeks you won't score.

"I think getting a job at this level is the way it should be done. These guys who get a job in the Premiership straight away are very fortunate. You get to learn what the job is about and it puts you in good stead."

After Darlington's recent goalscoring problems perhaps Hodgson would've considered asking Rush, who would've played in the charity game at Darlington in January, organised by Hodgson, but pulled out to see his son play his first youth team game for Liverpool, to take charge of shooting practice.

Albeit against their worst opposition of the season so far, Saturday saw some much-improved finishing and supporters will be hoping the victory had everything to do with an improvement in the team's fortunes and nothing to do with a strange coincidence as the win at Chester had a strange sense of de ja vu about it.

The last time Darlington provided the visiting opposition when the host club appointed a new manager was in March 2002 when another former Liverpool great, Jan Molby, was unveiled to the Hull City supporters and that day Quakers also picked up the three points, winning 2-1.