DARLINGTON will attempt to recover from their midweek defeat at Chorley when Warrington Town head to Blackwell Meadows this afternoon.

When Quakers beat Southport 3-0 in their last home league game on September 21 they were in the top half of the table, but a return of just one point from three away games, the last of which was a 3-0 defeat at Chorley in midweek, has seen them slip down the table to 18th.

Quakers have lost only once in five home league games this season, and assistant manager Terry Mitchell said: “Our home form has been really good this season, and performances generally have been as well. Even when we lost to Kidderminster, we took them all the way.

“The lads don’t go out to make mistakes. We had six clean sheets until three weeks ago, which was outstanding in the league. Unfortunately, we’ve had a little bit of a mistake here and there, but that’s football. Without a doubt, the lads are hungry to get back at home, and impress the home fans who have always been fantastic.”

One problem Darlington will have to resolve is their lack of goals as they have one of the lowest tallies in the league with ten goals in 12 matches. Only Marine and Needham Market have scored fewer.

“We need to do better as a team, but the most positive thing is, we are creating chances," said Mitchell. "If we weren’t doing that, we’d be scratching our heads and be worried. If we continue creating chances, it will turn and we’ll start scoring goals.”

Defensively, Quakers have only conceded 12 goals, which is bettered by only six clubs in the league.

“Any team can beat any other in this league," continued Mitchell. "Only one team has won their last three games in a row, and only two have won two in a row. It’s a wide open league, on our day we’re a match for any team in this league. If we can go into the top end of the pitch and convert our chances, then we’ll be okay.”

Quakers will still be without defender Ben Hedley and midfielder Tom Platt because of injury, while midfielder Will Hatfield will have a fitness test on a hamstring problem.

Warrington are currently 15th in the table and changed their manager earlier in the season, with Mark Beesley leaving for FC United and being replaced by former manager Paul Carden. They had a good 2-0 win in midweek against high-flying Hereford.

“Warrington have changed their manager recently and he’s brought in a different style of play,” said Mitchell. “We’ve watched their matches, and we know what to expect. They’ve had some cracking results.”