Darlington manager Mick Tait will be hoping his side can last the whole 90 minutes when they head to Third Division high-flyers Oxford United this weekend.

The Quakers boss watched his side squander a golden opportunity to halt their recent slump against fellow strugglers Bury at the weekend.

Skipper Craig Liddle's third goal of the season handed Quakers an early lead in a first half dominated by Tait's men. But Quakers failed to make their possession count and Bury won 3-1.

As Quakers bid to avoid a sixth successive League defeat at third-placed Oxford, Tait has called on his players to make their positive starts count throughout the duration of games. "We let Bury off the hook after dominating the first 25 minutes," said Tait.

And last night the manager delivered his most damning verdict yet, saying: "We should have punished them more but the problem may be that the players can't do it for 90 minutes. That just isn't good enough."

After giving positive accounts of themselves in recent defeats at Yeovil and Cheltenham, Tait could offer few excuses for the disappointing display at the weekend.

"We deserved to get something at Yeovil and Cheltenham but we didn't deserve anything on Saturday," he said.

"We started well with a lot of hard work but our passing was very sloppy at times and we allowed them far too much space.

"We have given too many goals away lately and this is obviously something we need to put right quickly."

Defender Ryan Valentine, who limped off after 32 minutes against Bury with a groin injury, remains doubtful for the Oxford game.

Quakers are already without experienced duo Barry Conlon (ankle) and Andy Collett (punctured lung), while midfielder Neil Maddison hopes to return to training this week following a thigh strain. Liddle picked up his fifth yellow card of the season on Saturday, which means the inspirational captain will be suspended for the FA Cup first round match with Ryman Premier League outfit Hornchurch, which has been moved to Sunday, kick-off 1pm.

Hornchurch say the decision was made on police advice and the game will not be televised.

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