Darlington chairman George Reynolds last night turned the tables on the fans, claiming he is waiting for the Feethams faithful to return before splashing out any cash on the team.

Supporters have been crying out for a new striker all season and any hopes of reaching the play-offs have disappeared.

Manager Tommy Taylor has been trying to bring in a forward but suffered another setback yesterday when a dispute over how Iyesdan Christie would be paid prevented him coming on loan from Leyton Orient.

Efforts to bring in Michael Proctor on loan from Sunderland fell through because his agent told him to stay on loan at York.

Reynolds has taken flak from supporters for some time, mainly because of his apparent reluctance to spend money on players as he concentrates his efforts on the new stadium - and now he's responded by telling them to help pay for a striker themselves.

Reynolds said: "Tommy Taylor can have as many players as he wants as long as the fans make the turnstiles turn.

"If they want us to spend money it's there, if they want a striker it's there. All they've got to do is get 5,000 people in.

"In my first year we were getting up to 8,000 because it was half the price. As soon as you put it up a pound they stop coming in. We're only getting 3,500."

Reynolds, however, believes the attendance at today's game with Torquay will be well below his target.

"It'll go up to about 4,000 and that'll be about it. But if they do it one week they'll say 'we got 5,000 through the turnstiles so we've got this to spend'. But it's no good having that one week, you've got to have it every week like other clubs.

"If they want me to spend they've got to chip in by coming through the turnstiles."

During Reynolds' first season at the Feethams helm in 1999/2000 he spent huge amounts on wages, and now believes he's learned from his mistakes and says that spending money doesn't automatically deliver promotion.

He explained: "Some people have got the stupid idea that spending gets you out of a mess. Look at what Middlesbrough have spent over the last three years, while Sunderland have spent nothing and Sunderland were higher than Middlesbrough over the past three years.

"When we had David Hodgson we spent a fortune but it didn't get us success. Spending might buy success in the First and Premier Divisions but not in the Second and Third divisions.

"You've only got to look at Rushden and Diamonds - what a fantastic club that is, very profitable.

"They make about £3.1m profit, and the highest wage there is £1,100 and ours is £2,000. They're further up the League than we are so that proves a point."

Despite criticism from supporters that he should spend money on the team to build a side worthy of playing in the new stadium, Reynolds stands firm in the belief he is running the club correctly.

He said: "The club is very secure. We're the only club that has got no borrowings and no debt, but if I listened to the fans we'd be closing within a week because they all say go out and spend.

"It's got to be right on the pitch and off the pitch. It's no good being like Chesterfield and doing very well and saying, 'we're going to get promoted, but we're going to close next week.'

"The club made a small profit last year but the minute you mention profit people say you should go out and spend it and get yourself in a mess.

"It's like if you were earning £500 a week and your wife was spending £1,000. How long are you going to last? How long before the bailiff comes and puts you out on the street?

"I had somebody saying to me 'get your wallet out because Heckingbottom's wanting more wages.' I said 'fair enough then give me your address, I'll come round your house and I'll put half in and you can put half in and when we sell him we'll get the profit'.'

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