SUPPORTERS were last night set the target of raising £250,000 in less than three months to help save Darlington Football Club.

Darlington Supporters' Trust, which is part of a consortium hoping to make a bid for the Quakers and the Reynolds Arena, wants to raise the total by the end of March to help ensure the club's survival.

However, officials stressed that the £250,000 total was a short-term crisis fund and did not represent the trust's share of any group bid.

The news comes at the start of a crucial week in the fight to salvage the 120-year-old club, which was put into administration to avoid a winding-up order by the Inland Revenue.

Administrators Wilson Field are expected to make a statement today, revealing the latest developments in their efforts to find a buyer.

And the Supporters' Trust will hold a meeting tomorrow night to hear from anyone with ideas on how to boost the crisis fund.

The trust kick-started its £250,000 appeal on Saturday, raising £2,000 through bucket collections at the match against Hull City.

Board member Tony Taylor said: "That is the figure we're almost certainly going to need at some time in the not-too-distant future.

"We know that there are serious problems, and I'm sure that when a statement of affairs comes out, people will realise how serious they are."

He added: "This initial target represents a significant amount, but one that other trusts around the country have managed to raise," he said.

A series of events is being planned and money from merchandise sales will also be ploughed into the fund.

Fans with fundraising ideas are being urged to attend tomorrow's meeting, in the Red Lion, in Priestgate, at 7.30pm. A public meeting is also being arranged for next week.

Meanwhile, reports at the weekend suggested that self-made millionaire Brooks Mileson was distancing himself from talks of a takeover bid.

The Sunderland-born entrepreneur stressed that the Quakers were his second choice, behind Carlisle United.

Wilson Field have confirmed that they have been contacted by a third potential buyer, although interested parties are waiting for the club's debts to be revealed at a creditors' meeting on January 22.

Read more about the Quakers here.