Darlington manager Gary Bennett is hoping his players will overcome both adversity and Rochdale at Feethams today.

Bennett will leave it as late as possible before he and assistant Jim Montgomery pick the starting line up for the game against the fifth-placed club because of the injury and flu situation which has flared up over the last 48 hours.

Indications are that only Gary Himsworth and Jesper Hjorth will miss the game, although Bennett will check on the fitness of defenders Neil Aspin and Paul Heckingbottom, as well as midfielder Glenn Naylor.

Bennett has also put goalkeeper Frank Van Der Geest, who hasn't played in the first team since October, on stand-by as regular Andy Collett has flu.

Bennett could do without the injury uncertainty as he tries to instill some consistency into his side.

They have won their last two home games, against Mansfield and Lincoln, but have lost away games badly at Chesterfield and Luton.

"We'll be deciding on the team when we've spoken to a few players in the morning," said Bennett.

"I don't take anything for granted now, especially after I received a couple of calls from players with injuries on the morning of our game at Chesterfield.

"It's the sort of thing we could do without, but we have to roll up our sleeves and get on with it.

"The problem has been that with three left-sided players either injured or recovering from injuries, we haven't been able to work on much in training.

"The injuries we've had mean that I haven't been able to field the same team for two games in a row and I've had to keep chopping and changing, which means I can't get a settled side.

"The players need to gain more of an understanding with each other."

Rochdale have their best chance of promotion this season for some years, and Bennett realises his side will have a tough game.

"Rochdale are a very solid side with a good away record, but I'll be looking at our players to rise to the occasion and fire on all cylinders,'' he admitted.

"We did well against them down there on the first day of the season when we drew 1-1, so there's no reason why we can't do well again. We know that it will be a tough game against a side which has battled hard to get where it has.

"But now we're at the halfway stage of the season and over the turmoil we've had, there's nothing wrong in us putting a good run together."

Defender Craig Liddle believes that all the players in the team should be chipping in with goals.

Quakers' scoring average is less than a goal a game and is one of the main reasons why they are currently 15th in the table, ten points off the play-off spots and 12 above bottom club Carlisle.

"We need to start taking the lead in games," said Liddle, who scored twice in the league before the end of September but hasn't found the back of the net since.

"We tend to make it hard for ourselves by conceding the first goal, and putting ourselves under pressure.

"All of us should be helping the strikers out by scoring goals from all areas of the pitch."

Liddle admits that reaching the play-offs would need a mammoth effort, but he said: "We're not giving up hope."

Rochdale have money burning a hole in their pocket as they try to get out of the division for the first time since 1973.

They have had a £100,000 bid turned down for Torquay striker Tony Bedeau and lost out to Rotherham for Macclesfield's Richie Barker after their six-figure bid was accepted. They are now interested in Stoke's former Middlesbrough striker Paul Connor, who is currently on loan at Cambridge.

They have lost just twice away from home, at Brighton and Mansfield, although they haven't won away now in five league and cup games.

l Former Darlington player Ken Furphy has been appointed as technical consultant to Noel Blake at Exeter - see page 26.