DARLINGTON defender Craig Liddle has taken a relaxing dip in a hi-tech hydrotherapy pool to aid his rehabilitation.

Liddle, recovering from a knee operation, visited the Pioneering Care Centre in Newton Aycliffe to use the state-of-the-art facilities.

The Quakers stalwart, who played with the injury throughout last season, is battling to be fit in time for pre-season training.

Manager David Hodgson said the first-class facilities at Aycliffe could help speed the player's recovery.

He said: "It's the kind of pool that Premiership clubs have in their stadiums, but we don't have in ours.

"We spoke to staff at the centre and they said Craig could come up here and use it for the early stages of his rehabilitation.

"The first two or three weeks after an operation are crucial to getting him back for pre-season training.

"We're praying he's back for the start and we know he's going to be back in better shape than he was."

Hodgson said he would be having discussions with managers at the centre with a view to the club using the facilities throughout the season.

The pool, which Liddle used for 30 minutes, is used regularly by people with disabilities to relieve pain and improve mobility.

For more details on the pool, call the centre, at Cobblers Hall, Newton Aycliffe on (01325) 327444.

* Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has revealed he is considering leaving the club, despite their promotion to the Premiership.

Palace beat West Ham 1-0 in the Nationwide Division One play-off to secure a place in the top-flight, something that seemed almost impossible when Iain Dowie took over as manager last December with the side teetering above the relegation zone.

But Jordan, 35, insists the financial burden and hard work involved since rescuing Palace from administration four years ago have taken their toll and his close friends and family are urging him to consider his position. ''This is not an impulsive decision to get out,'' he said. ''In the past, I have largely ignored certain issues relating to my involvement with Palace but I always maintained that if we secured promotion I would consider my position.

"Certain people's natural assumption would be to suggest that I want to profit from our promotion. But money is not the motivator."

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