DARLINGTON striker Barry Conlon last night vowed to save Tommy Taylor's job to thank the manager for showing faith in him.
After firing blanks rather than bullets in the early part of the season, Conlon has scored three goals in Darlington's last four games - including Saturday's winner against Bristol Rovers.
Taylor decided not to drop Conlon, despite the Irishman's poor record of just one strike in his club's first nine matches.
His loyalty has been rewarded by the 23-year-old's return to form in front of goal in the last fortnight as he has tried to repay Taylor.
Now, with chairman George Reynolds declaring after Saturday's game that the 1-0 win has not put Taylor in the clear, Conlon is on a crusade to keep his manager in the Feethams hot-seat. He said: "The manager stuck by me when I wasn't scoring and now I want to do the business for him on the pitch.
"It's great for a player when your manager stands by you, and that's all you can ask your manager to do.
"I felt I'd been playing well but I wasn't getting enough goals. Now that's changed and I'm glad this win will do the manager's position a lot of good.
"He's got his own mind and thoughts on the game, and he sticks by them. We don't leave the training ground until he thinks we've got it right.
"We've been working hard and doing what he's told us to do, and hopefully we can put this bad spell behind us now."
Reynolds has shown his commitment to keeping Taylor by bankrolling a handful of new signings and promising to fund the arrival of a new striker.
But he warned: "We've got no excuse now. Managers come and go, and last season more than 40 went.
"I'm not ridiculing Tommy at all but we've got to be realistic. It's like anything in life: you've got to produce the goods.
"Let's hope Tommy turns it round, and I'm sure he'll be all right if he gets two or three wins under his belt now.
"Tommy's still in the hot-seat - and it will remain hot for a few weeks yet. One win doesn't make the difference."
Conlon admitted Darlington's wretched run before the weekend had left him at the lowest ebb in his professional career.
He said: "I've never had a spell as bad as that and, like everyone else at the club, I was feeling down.
"It's difficult to keep your head up when you're having a tough time. But you have to try to be lively when you go into training every morning.
"If one of the other players isn't feeling too good, you have to try to lift his spirits.
"We take our lead from the manager, too, and he seemed to make a real effort to keep smiling."
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