We've pestered the editor of the Darlo rivals site to do 10 questions for us in the build up to this weekend's first leg of the Play Offs. And it paid off. Here's what he had to say for himself.

1) What's been your take on Darlo's season then?
In all honesty it has turned out to be a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, being in the play offs is a fantastic achievement, in fact we have finished in the highest position in the league since 2000. But the team we have is more than capable for automatic and for a long time it looked like we would being going up that way. It all started to go wrong just 6 weeks ago when injuries started to mount up. By the time we were playing our final important games we were without 5 strikers and at Peterborough we even brought on our youngest ever player at 15 years old. It's all if's and buts, we can have no excuses BUT injuries to our strikeforce have cost us promotion.

2) Your stadium has a reduced capacity. What's the story behind that?
The story behind it is that we had a buffoon of a chairman and owner who promised the earth and failed to deliver. Some of you may have heard the story behind George Reynolds and he was very good at saying things people wanted to hear. Darlington Borough Council should also take a huge portion of the blame too as it is they who granted the planning permission for the huge stadium. When the permission was given it was on the proviso that various park and ride facilities were put in place and improvements made to the A66 which leads to the ground. Those improvements have not been made and add to that a council car park calculator, car park spaces x 4 gives capacity, then the council have this 10k limit until it is improved.

3) What would you say was the highlight of your season so far?
The season hasn't provided many highlights for Darlington fans. We have had a few 3 and 4 nil victories but haven't won any of the crucial matches against the front runners when we needed too.

4) What's the feeling amongst the Darlington support about the Play Offs? Are fans hopeful?
If you asked us Darlo fans the same question last week then the majority would be telling you we didn't stand a chance. our form was woeful, our strikers none existent and our reliable defence was becoming leaky. But the victory away at Peterbroough has given us some confidence just when we need it. We still think it is going to be tough but there is no point going into the games with a negative vibe is there, but in reality we are the underdogs, form counts for everything and you want to be going into the play offs in good form, we are certainly not.

5) There seems to be a lack of comedy stories associated with Darlington over the past year. Has your club finally got its act together and despatched the Reynolds era to history now?
We have a new George at the club now and it is run in a more professional way. Darlo did turn into the comedy club but with serious consequences. The only problem we have now is the 25k seater stadium Reynolds left behind. The only way we will ever solve that problem is by going up the divisions and getting the crowds in to justify such a ground.

6) Aside from the bars at the ground, where's the best place for Dale fans to get a drink on Saturday?
There a few pubs close to the ground but the best bet off site would be the Copper Beech which is just 3mins walk down the road from the stadium. For those who are wanting to fill the day in then it may be worth you parking in the town centre and having a look around there first, plenty of pubs around, a bit of a trek to the ground though but there is a football bus special for a £1 return. It goes from Tubwell Row outside the Nags Head pub. The only other pub near the ground is the Tawny Owl which is on the other side of the A66. It is very close to the ground and does bar meals etc, just watch the road as you cross.

7) We've read about your injury crisis. How bad is it?
It has been really bad, unbelievable. I have mentioned it in previous questions but we have had the likes of Gregg Blundell, Richie Foran, Pawel Abbott, Tommy Wright, Julian Joachim and Ndumbu-Nsungu all injured. Everyone of these a striker. Thankfully Wright is now back to fitness with Joachim expected to return on Saturday. But our player of the season goalkeeper David Stockdale then went and picked up an injury at Posh last weekend. He left the field on crutches and will have his fitness checked on Saturday.

8) If Darlo were to go up via the play offs, how do you think you would fare in the division above, and what would you miss most about League Two?
We would need to strengthen, particularly in midfield where we have been weak for a good few seasons. But I believe our current chairman would give sufficient funds to bring the personnel in.

9) Who's been the biggest donkey you've seen in League Two over the past season?
No player has really stood out as a donkey for me this season, possibly because if I thought they were crap then I would have been telling myself it was our players that made the look that way.

10) Dale and Darlington are the two longest serving members of the division. There's no chance of your lot throwing this game because you want to rename the Rochdale division to become the Darlington division, is there?
Funnily enough there was a thread on our messageboard about this the other day. It is great that we are both in the play offs, a shame though that we could not have met in the final. I have the greatest respect for any lower league fan, it is oh see easy to support the big teams around our towns, but we stay loyal to the death and in our cases it has been near certain death for many years. As to throwing the game, well as George Reynolds wife once proclaimed, it has been known to throw games at this stage of the season by way of favours. I will tell you after the two legs as to whether we decided to throw the game ;)

Thanks to Scott for the above interview

Photo: Action Images via Reuters