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 are being planned and money from merchandise sales will also be ploughed into the fund.

Fans with fund-raising 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.

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