Darlington travel to Hereford United this week boosted by the return of Tommy Wright from suspension along with Julian Joachim and Tim Ryan from injury. Quakers' boss Dave Penney is keeping his cards close to his chest as to Joachim's role but the forward, who has been playing on the wing to excellent effect, should be in contention for a starting place.

The return of Ryan could also free up Rob Purdie to take on a more attacking role against his former club. The utility player has impressed in several different positions already this season but with Johann Smith still feeling the effects of an ankle injury Purdie could play out wide on the left.

Quakers are without a win in the last two games but on the flip side they remain unbeaten grinding out two draws against good quality opposition in the form of Bradford City and Chesterfield whilst missing several key players. Those players are now starting to return and it could be the cue for Darlington to kick on and get back to winning ways. While some have been disappointed with the last couple of games Penney remains confident and upbeat.

"You can look at stats which ever way you want to," he said. "In the last four games we've kept four clean sheets and scored seven goals. We have goals in us and we now have Julian Joachim back, Tommy Wright back and Tim Ryan is also available. As long as we keep clean sheets then we always have a chance of scoring goals. We do expect more of ourselves and so do the players. We expect to get results every time we turn out. Saturday will be no different."

Hereford so far are enjoying a decent season. Graham Turner's side sit in the play-offs despite a rebuilding effort during the summer. Their home form however has been a little sketchy of late but Penney is expecting nothing but a tough test from Saturday's opponents. Some have billed the Bulls as a surprise package this season but Penney doesn't subscribe to this.

"We've had a tough six weeks and Hereford have had a good season so far," said Penney. "It is a difficult place to go and the pitch has a bit of a slope so it will be a tough game. Graham is a good manager and he has been at this level for a long time now. He knows a good player and gets teams playing. Obviously he knows a player because he had Rob Purdie there last season. It doesn't surprise me that they are up there. He always seems to have to rebuild every year but it's not a surprise to me to see them up there."