Gregg Blundell believes having four forwards competing for two positions will help to bring the best out of Darlington's attacking ranks.

The Liverpool-born forward scored his first of the season on Saturday after coming off the bench to put the seal on Quakers' 2-0 win at Rotherham United.

He replaced fellow striker Pawel Abbott who scored the first goal while Tommy Wright played almost the entire 90 minutes, before being replaced by Kevin McBride, leaving Ian Harty as an unused sub.

With manager Dave Penney using a 4-4-2 formation, the foursome are in competition for just two positions and although Blundell says that playing as a substitute can be difficult, he says the team will benefit.

"If you only had two strikers playing week in week out with no pressure on them they would know they could afford to have off games," said Blundell who has come off the bench in every league game this season.

"There's me and Ian Harty sitting on the bench and I hope we can keep putting pressure on the other two. If we do get a chance to start, hopefully we will score but if we don't get a chance it means Tommy and Pawel are doing their job which is the main thing.

"It's difficult because you only get 15, 20 minutes at a time and you're trying to prove to yourself, the fans and the manager that you should be in the team.

"Sometimes it works for you and other times it doesn't. Luckily, today I managed to grab a goal."

His 76th minute header, a close-range effort from Julian Joachim's cross, not only sealed victory but also provided a reminder of his ability.

With Abbott and Wright clearly Penney's favoured strikers, Blundell is facing a fight to earn a start and he said: "It's nice to get a goal because it sticks in people's minds, reminds people that you're still here and I'm still here looking to score goals.

"Plus, I've been coming off the bench this season but only getting a couple of half chances so it was nice to have a decent chance and put it away.

"They're all decent goals for me, whether they are a yard from the line or outside the box.

"I'm just delighted to get off the mark because the longer it drags on the more you start questioning yourself so it was nice to pop one in."

* National newspaper reports yesterday suggested Darlington goalkeeper David Stockdale was the subject of interest from Sunderland.

The Premier League side are believed to be interested in a player who has established himself as Dave Penney's first-choice.