DAVE PENNEY admits he is bitter that Darlington will not win promotion this season and he has questioned the decision to plunge the club into administration.

That happened on February 25, on the instruction of former chairman George Houghton, effectively ending the promotion dream.

He did so with Penney’s side in the play-off positions and a day after they lost at home to Rochdale, Quakers’ opponents today.

The game is to be televised live on Sky Sports, just as last season’s play-off meetings were, but Penney takes his team to Spotland for a game without the thrill of last May’s crunch clashes.

Although Dale are aiming for a top-three finish, midtable Quakers have little to play for, and Penney said: “If we didn’t have the ten points taken off we’d have been going to Rochdale in very different circumstances.

“We could have been in the play-offs, pushing for automatic, but I actually think we would have gone up automatically this year.

“We got 76 points last year, but 76 this year is probably going to be enough to finish in the top three.

“If you look at the points it’s going to take to get to third this season, I think we could have done it.

“It sticks in my throat, we would have gone up this season.”

A Darlington promotion would have been their first since 1991, but next season, assuming the club exists, they will play their 18th consecutive season in the basement division.

Only Rochdale have been in the division longer – this is their 35th campaign at this level – and Penney is understandably miffed.

He said: “I am bitter, yes. I’m annoyed and fed-up.

“For eight months these players have worked really hard, day in, day out. There’s no holidays, they’ve stayed focused for eight months.

“I didn’t see administration coming, I still don’t know why he (Houghton) did it, nobody has ever given me a reason.

“There have been rumours that we blew the budget but that’s rubbish. We’ve always worked within our budget and done things properly.

“For it to happen in the circumstances that it did happen – the FA were not informed in advance, the Football League were not informed – he just did it.

“It hadn’t even been on the radar that we were struggling.

I’ve been told four or five clubs are having their wages paid by the PFA. We didn’t go down that route but I feel we could have done to help us out in the short-term.

“The players are not getting paid as much as they should be, even though we are in administration. During three months they’ve only had a percentage of one month’s pay and I’m not sure when they’re getting paid next.

“So there are a lot of things making me bitter.”

Another issue for Penney to deal with has been the eligibility of Liam Hatch and Danny Carlton.

The on-loan strikers were left out of the last two games and Quakers’ solicitors were yesterday still attempting to get to the bottom of the problem.

Despite the off-field concerns that have dogged Darlington since February 25, Penney and assistant Martin Gray have maintained a determination among the players to finish the season on a high.

That determination was demonstrated on Monday, when Quakers, without several key players, twice fought back to draw against promotion- chasing Bury.

“With everything that’s been happening it would be easy to expect the worst sometimes, but the players have showed a lot of character to put everything to one side and just get on with it,” said Penney.

It’s taken two-and-a-half years to get this far, we’ve got better characters here, better footballers, and we were going in the right direction.

“It’s disappointing that twoand- a-half years’ work has come to nothing.

“Whoever is manager here next season, whether me or someone else, is going to have to start from scratch.

“It’s difficult to plan ahead. The majority of the squad is out of contract but I can’t offer contracts to any of them.

“By this time in most other seasons I’ve got new players lined up to come in but I can’t do that now.

“I don’t know what the budget’s going to be so it’s difficult to plan ahead as well as difficult to manage on a dayto- day basis.”

■ Rochdale have chosen today’s game to display a banner they received when they were beaten in the Wembley play-off final by Stockport.

A club spokesman said: “It will be unfurled in full view of the Westrose Leisure Stand.”

The Westrose Leisure Stand is where Quakers’ supporters will be housed.