By Martin Walker
Darlington boss Mark Cooper is trying to take the positives from Friday night's defeat at home to Carlisle.
The Quakers completed an arduous opening three games to their pre-season, with home games against Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle kicking off their preperations.
And despite a 3-0 defeat against the Cumbrians, Cooper is refusing to be too downbeat.
"It's not fair to judge them on a couple of games against the teams we have faced," he said.
"We need to see them against teams that are a bit nearer to us in terms of quality.
"We've had three games and we can't get too disheartened. The three games we have had, we could have done with having games against lower teams.
"We've not seen much of the ball, it's been more about defending. We were disappointed with the second half, but we'll get a truer gauge next week."
Darlington's pre-season continues with four away games next week. They go to Northern League side Whitley Bay on Monday night then head off to the Lake District for a three-day team-building exercise, taking in Workington on Tuesday night and Kendal on Thursday.
The week will finish with a game at Billingham Synthonia next Saturday, followed by games against Spennymoor Town, Newton Aycliffe and a trip to Gretna.
