Darlington defender Gary Brown says that Quakers’ togetherness is a big factor in their good start to the season.

Quaker go into Sunday’s game at Gloucester City with seven points from their opening three games, and were briefly top of the table last Monday night after winning 2-1 at Curzon Ashton, when the home side launched a late revival.

“We have a lot of self belief and togetherness,” he said. “You know that if you’re having a bad game, then the other lads on the pitch will help you through and support you as much as they can.

“That’s been a big factor in our start to the season. We never give in, we keep battling right to the end, as we proved at Altrincham in the first game of the season.

“We had a little bit of luck when Curzon Ashton missed that last minute chance, but that made up for us not getting that penalty in stoppage time at Altrincham.”

The four hour journey to Cheltenham doesn’t bother Gary. “I go to Cheltenham races every year, so I know what the trip is like! We get looked after well on the bus down, so there’ll be no excuses.”

Gary has yet to score this season, but his defensive partner Kev Burgess has already scored twice. “I think he’s suddenly gained the knack of being in the right place at the right time. I think we’re very dangerous at setpieces, we’ve got several big lads who cause problems in the opposition penalty area.

“I thought I should have scored against Boston last week, when Mark Beck knocked the ball down, I couldn’t quite connect.”