Quakers face fellow play-off chasers King’s Lynn at Blackwell Meadows this afternoon in the first of a gruelling schedule of 11 games in 35 days that will almost certainly determine whether they’re in the top seven at the end of the season.
They’ve failed to beat King’s Lynn at Blackwell Meadows in their two previous meetings, and have only beaten today’s opponents once in six matches over the course of five years, which was the first game in charge for Watson and his assistant Terry Mitchell in January last year.
“King’s Lynn are a good strong side,” said Watson. “It was a tight game down there earlier this season. They’re a side that has got one of the best strikers in the league, and a really good number ten behind him. They’re really dangerous at the top end, and they’re solid behind the ball.
“We know that it’s going to be a really tough game, every game is really important now.
“We have a really tough schedule coming up, but we’re not the only ones in the league. We’ll try to keep the players fit, and freshen it when we can and when we need to.
“It’s difficult to find that balance. If you’re going well and win a couple of games, the temptation is not to change it. Fresh legs are going to be needed – I hope we’ve got that decision to make.”
Watson believes that his team’s togetherness will be a big factor in the run-in.
“We’ve all been together since we’ve arrived,” he added. “When we dug ourselves out of that huge hole that we were in.
“The lads have a great togetherness. There is harmony amongst them all, and there’s a desire to do better. Terry and I are constantly driving standards, and everyone is on the same page.”
Tenth-placed Quakers are nine points and three places behind the Linnets, but that figure would have been reduced if Watson’s side had held on to their lead, which came courtesy of a Jack Maskell goal, at The Walks in October.
“The season has had positives in many respects, but we’ve not killed teams off enough,” said Watson. “Terry and I have chatted about this. Last season, some players were well into their goal tallies, but this season it hasn’t quite happened yet.”
Striker Cameron Salkeld will be missing with an ankle injury, while defender Elliot Forbes will have a fitness test on the calf injury he picked up last week at Southport.
But Watson also admitted: “There may be a couple of lads who we’re thinking of bringing in for the rest of the season.”
The Linnets will include two former Darlington players, Finlay Barnes and Theo Williams in their squad. Their danger man is Jonny Margetts, with Tommy Hughes backing him up.
Quakers’ away game at Alfreton, which has been postponed twice, has been re-arranged for Tuesday, March 18, which means that Darlington will start a spell of five successive Tuesday-night games at Scunthorpe United next week.
