DARLINGTON manager Alun Armstrong has told his players they will have to dig deep in tomorrow's away game at Brackley.

It’s a clash between the fifth and sixth-placed clubs, both of whom are struggling to find winning form.

Quakers, in sixth, haven’t won in their last six matches, while Brackley haven’t won it their last ten. The chasing pack are snapping at their heels, with the eighth-placed club, Alfreton, just a point behind Quakers, and Gloucester sandwiched in between.

“Brackley are very similar to us, they’re on a bad run,” said Armstrong. “The pressure gets to people unfortunately. We’ve got to keep on top of that and get the lads going.

"It’s about what happens on the day. The first half of the season was fantastic, but then we lost a few players, had a lot of injuries, but the lads have to keep it going and make sure we get into the top seven and get the play-off place that they deserve for their efforts.

“The lads have got to dig deep. We’ve got four games left, and we’ve got to pick up as many points as possible from them.

“Pressure is a difficult thing - as well as the stress that the lads are under because of the position that we’re in. They’ve got to go out there and do what they’re capable of.

“They must forget about what else is going on around them. They’re good enough players – they’ve proved that during the season. They’ve got to stick to what they’ve done.”

Armstrong is encouraging everyone to stay positive as they look for their second play-off position in seven seasons. They couldn’t appear in the play offs first time round in 2017 because Blackwell Meadows wasn’t up to standard at the time.

“There’s a bit of negativity about because we haven’t won for so long, but we’re still in the top seven," he continued.

“If you’d flipped the season over, and we were winning games now, then it would be a totally different mentality.

"A lot of teams have good and bad runs, it’s just that ours has come at the wrong time. But we’ve to keep being positive and keep believing that we’ll get there in the end.”

Armstrong admitted that he was disappointed with the effort of some players for a 30-minute period after Quakers had taken a 1-0 lead against Bradford PA on Monday and the visitors had hit back to lead 2-1.

“I actually questioned the desire from them, and how much they really wanted to win," he said. "They put that right in the second half.

"The effort was there to be seen, but I shouldn’t have to do that, we should have been out of sight in that game. We know that we’re a decent side when we play with intensity to get at people. Hopefully, we’ll show that.”

Brackley are fifth in the table, but they parted company with their manager, Roger Johnson, at the weekend after they were beaten by bottom club Telford, managed by Kevin Wilkin, ironically whom Johnson replaced.

Just like Quakers, they have stumbled through March and April, and haven’t won in ten matches.

“They’re a little bit jittery as well, so it could be a nervous game or an open game," said Armstrong. "We’ve got to make sure that we turn up on the day, and play to the best potential that we’ve got.”

Jack Lambert, who has got 16 goals to his credit this season, will have a fitness test, while Ben Liddle is also close to fitness again.

However, defenders Kallum Griffiths and David Wheater are both still injured.

“We’re starting to get players back, which helps," added Armstrong. "The lads have just got to keep going, hopefully with the fans behind them.”