Two players very familiar to Darlington will be in the opposition's line-up this evening when Mansfield Town arrive at The Northern Echo Arena.

The Stags include striker 11-goal Paul Connor, who Quakers have tracked for much of the season and were hoping to tempt from Field Mill.

One player who has already played for the club, however, is Mansfield skipper Steve Foster who will receive a warm reception as he makes his first return to the Arena since leaving.

The veteran defender was a Dave Penney signing in 2007 and went on to become an integral member of the side, becoming a crowd favourite as Quakers reached the League Two play-offs during his first season.

Having made 102 appearances before leaving last March as a clause in his contract, meaning one more game would trigger a new contract, had left him on the sidelines for a lengthy spell.

The 36-year-old joined his hometown club in the summer and said: "It'll be great to see the fans again. I had a great relationship with the supporters and I feel for them after everything that's happened.

"There's been a big turnaround of players since I left, but I still keep in touch with Ian Miller and Tommy Wright."

During his first two seasons with Quakers, Foster was partnered by Alan White, who is now at Gateshead, with Miller proving back-up.

Miller has since succeeded Foster as captain and was Quakers' man of the match in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Tamworth.

He will continue his partnership with Adam Quinn, and manager Mark Cooper says a video nasty has played a factor in Miller's recent improvement in form.

He said: "Ian and Adam Quinn were excellent on Saturday. Since we showed the defenders that maybe they weren't dominating as much in the air as they should they have really taken it on board and started to attack the ball.

"We showed them a couple of clips on DVD, from games like at Fleetwood, when we weren't dominant. Full credit to Ian Miller because he has done really well the last month or so.

"To be fair to the captain, he went away and looked at it, took it on the chin and come back a better player."

Despite the defence's good showing, an injury-time cost Quakers victory, and Cooper added: "It's not something that my teams are usually associated with, conceding late goals. We've got a little bit more steely than that.''