Darlington PR director Luke Raine has moved to quash speculation that Gary Bennett's position as manager is under threat.

Bennett didn't enjoy the best of seasons last year and the pre-season friendlies have seen defeats to non-league Barrow Blyth and Irish part-timers Bray Wanderers.

Speaking at a fans' forum on Tuesday in Newton Aycliffe, Raine said: "I've heard the rumours about Gary but they simply aren't true because we're right behind him.

"We've got a programme and we're sticking to it.

"It would have to be extreme circumstances before he got sacked.

"You can't start a season and tell him he's got three games to get things right or he's sacked; a man can't work under that kind of pressure.

"A lot of what Gary had to put up with last season was down to the board.

"We made mistakes on a massive scale last season and Gary took a lot of stick, which was very unfair."

With two days to go before the League opener, Bennett is facing a substantial injury list, with five of the affected players set to be sidelined for quite a while yet.

Martin Gray (back) and Paul Heckingbottom (thigh) are both vital to the manager's plans, but Bennett has admitted their careers could be over if they're brought back into action too soon.

On Gray, he said: "We've got to give him time and it's something we can't rush.

"If he breaks down again, that's it.

"He's a massive miss to me. We need players on the pitch like him, we need leaders.

Heckingbottom managed just 45 minutes on the club's three-game tour of Ireland.

Bennett said: "We took him to Ireland and he broke down again. We're sending him to a specialist and if he breaks down again we may have to call it a day.

"Glenn Naylor, Gary Himsworth and Mark Kilty all have cruciate ligament injuries.

"That makes it five players injured and they're all part of the budget I've got to work with."

Also on the sick list is Clint Marcelle, while Phil Brumwell and Adam Reed (head wound) missed out on the opportunity of getting 90 minutes under their belt when last night's game at Prudhoe was rained off.

Also in need of match practice is Neil Maddison, who continued his recovery from a thigh strain by playing the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 win at North Shields on Saturday.

Bennett revealed at Tuesday's meeting that Maddison underwent hernia surgery after signing, only for one of the stitches to come loose.

This was rectified, but when the ex-Middlesbrough midfielder returned, he suffered the thigh strain.

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