Foster and Miller stay with Quakers

Jun 23 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

COLIN Todd is close to finalising his Darlington squad for next season after persuading long-serving skipper Steve Foster and Ian Miller to stay at the Arena.

Despite the club still being in administration, Todd has been busy recruiting for the forthcoming campaign, filling up most of the key areas left threadbare by the fall-out of the Quakers’ financial crisis.

The Darlington manager says he has recruited a mix of youth and experience, but is staying tight-lipped on the identities of new captures until the start of pre-season.

He has also mitigated the blow of losing out-of-contract pair Franz Burgmeier and Pawel Abbott by persuading Foster and Miller to agree to stay on at the club.

The pair are under contract but – in common with the rest of the squad – had been told earlier in the summer that they were free to find another club.

Todd was given the green light to begin recruiting after a meeting with owner-in-waiting Raj Singh last week – a further sign that the club expect to leave administration imminently.

“I have got most of my squad in now. It’s been busy over the last week but I have got quite a few players signed up,” Todd said. “I will not reveal the identities of those players until just before pre-season because we want to make a splash, but we’ve got some signed up now.

“We’re working to tight financial constraints so it’s been a fair challenge for us to get everything sorted but we’re quite far along now. There’s some youthful players in there, some experienced players who maybe started out at Premier League clubs before dropping down to the Football League. I’m delighted with what I have managed to do so far.”

Dean Windass is the only confirmed new addition in a player-coach role, although Todd is understood to have agreed terms with Carlisle pair Chris Lumsdon and Jeff Smith, as well as former Sheffield United defender Ben Starosta.