Darlington will look to extend their good start to the season with a win over Notts County this weekend (kick-off 3pm). Quakers have not recorded a win at home over the Magpies since the days of the old third division. Darlington's 2-1 win in 1986 was the last time County were beaten in the town but Quakers will be more than hopeful of setting that record straight following their excellent start to the season.

Back to back league wins over Wrexham and Accrington Stanley have seen Darlington climb to the top of division however manager Dave Penney is quick to cool any talk of this. Quakers though have started the season well with five goals already in the bag and nothing conceded at the back so confidence is high.

"Getting a good start has taken a bit of tension out of the players, because once you get your first win you can relax a bit, and at the start of the season you don't want a run of games without winning," said the manager. "What we have achieved so far is a start, and now we want to carry it on. The players are confident because good results increase belief, but they know that they have to look to play even better."

Visitors Notts County are unbeaten so far in the league but still hunting for their opening win of the campaign. An opening day draw at Grimsby Town was followed up with a point against Brentford at Meadow Lane. The result means that the Magpies are still looking for their first three points of the season but with plenty of experience in their squad they have the ability to cause problems. One player who will not cause Darlington a problem is Jason Lee. The experienced forward has been given a three match ban from the FA for reasons unknown.

"I am not sure what the reasons are for Jason Lee's ban but he is out for Saturday. He is a big threat for them from set pieces and he is their main man who they go through. I am sure though they have other personnel, maybe Hector Sam or Junior Mendes, who can come in and take his place. That will be a chance for them to shine. There are no easy games at this level. We spoke yesterday about consistency and that is what we are trying to get."

With two clean sheets already behind them the Darlington defence is certainly showing signs of consistency. Stephen Foster and Alan White have looked extremely solid in the last two games heading everything out that has come their way and preventing the opposition a way to goal. Penney also has Ian Miller as an option at the back but with County being one of White's former clubs it would be a surprise to see him anywhere but on the pitch come kick-off time.

With three goals against Stanley and two against Wrexham the forward line looks more than consistent at present and the Darlington boss believes that Pawel Abbott will have benefited from his two goals against Accrington last weekend.

"It's always a relief for a striker to get his first goals for a new club. He has two goals in three games now, which is a lot better than playing after three blanks. He can make things difficult for Notts County, and as Tommy Wright also has a couple of goals, we have two in form strikers," said Penney. "That makes it double difficult for the opposition defence and I hope that's the case tomorrow. But we have to stay focussed in all departments because this is a wide open league, and we know that we will have to play well to beat County."

Darlington midfielder Ricky Ravenhill is rated as fifty-fifty for the game on Saturday. Rob Purdie looks set to continue at right-back with Neil Austin, who has returned to training, given extra time to fully recover from an ankle injury.