DANNY Mellanby was last night challenged to become Darlington's 20-goals-a-season striker after putting the injury nightmare that once threatened his career behind him.

After a tortuous seven months trying to recover from a debilitating back problem, Mellanby will be on the bench at Bury today as Darlington look to build on last week's 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

With Tommy Taylor still unable to bring another striker to Feethams, the door is open for 23-year-old Mellanby to establish himself as an indispensable member of the Darlington squad.

He scored just four times in 24 league appearances last season but Taylor is confident the former Bishop Auckland forward, who has not started a Third Division game since last February after suffering a trapped nerve in his back, can become a regular scorer.

The Darlington manager said: "I think Danny's got a great chance of going on and doing very well at a much higher level.

"His first touch is good and I've no doubt he'll score goals.

"Like everyone else, we're looking for a striker who can score 20 goals a season.

"But until we manage to bring someone in, Danny will be on the bench or in the team.

"And if Danny does well while we're still trying to sign someone, then there will be no one more delighted for him than me.

"He's been trying so hard to come back, but every time he's thought he's been ready and he's pushed himself a bit harder, the injury has flared up again.

"But he had an injection in his back a month ago and ever since then he's not had a problem or even missed one day's training.

"He's played for 90 minutes once and for 60 minutes four times, and everything seems good.

"I'm really pleased for him because he was very worried at one stage, even though we kept telling him that everything would turn out all right in the end.

"But he's so up for it now, and although he's not yet ready to play for 90 minutes, we'll be able to put him on if things are going well. His return is a big plus for us."

Taylor is likely to keep faith with the team that brought a much-needed end to Darlington's seven-game winless run last Saturday for the trip to Gigg Lane.

The Quakers manager knows he is still under a great deal of pressure and will not countenance defeat to Bury, who knocked local rivals Bolton Wanderers out of the Worthington Cup ten days ago.

Taylor said: "We need to be really positive when we go to Bury. If we can reproduce on the pitch what we're doing on the training ground, we'll be all right.

"Even when we were having a tough time the players were excellent, as they have been all season.

"Yes, we still need a striker, and I gave a trial to a French striker this week in a behind-closed-doors game against Blackpool.

"That didn't work out but it just shows I'm looking everywhere for a goalscorer. I went for Carl Griffiths at Luton, but he's had a calf injury and has a history of calf trouble, and I can't take the gamble that he'll be all right."

Bury manager Andy Preece has told his team they must beat Darlington after last week's home defeat to Southend United.

He said: "There's pressure on every game but we have to win at home. We've dominated virtually every game we've played this season, but we're having to score two, three or four goals to win games."

Read more about the Quakers here.