What could be easier than having to play a side rock bottom at the foot of the table, 14 points behind their nearest rivals and relegated almost two months ago, in a game that really matters?
Surely the ideal side you would want to meet in a 'must win' game that could take you into the promotion play-offs.
Well, a couple of months ago tomorrow's hosts to Daggers in their final game of the League season, would have seemed perfect opponents.
But things have changed at the Darlington Arena in the past month or so, with the appointment of ex-Barnsley manager Simon Davey as the new boss of Darlo.
Davey replaced ex-Republic of Ireland manager and former Republic defensive stalwart Steve Staunton, who had presided over one of the worst campaigns in the County Durham club's history, on April 1.
But then the Quakers (to use their older nickname) were well on their way to playing Conference football for the second time in their history.
Darlington dropped out of League football in 1989, but former Aston Villa, Wolves and Leicester boss Brian Little steered them back at the first attempt.
Not only did Little, who was cutting his managerial teeth with the Quakers, take them back into the League, he also won them promotion to what is now League 1 the next season, before heading off to the Midlands and further success.
Davey, whose main claim to managerial fame was that he steered unfashionable Barnsley to the FA Cup semi-finals two seasons ago, having beaten both Chelsea and Liverpool on the way.
A former Academy manager at both the Oakwell club and at his former club Preston, under David Moyes, the defender, who had to retire at 27 through a back njury, has former Preston teammate Ryan Kidd, who played over 300 times for the Deepdale club as his assistant.
Davey has wasted no time in making his presence felt at the seven-year-old, 25,000 capacity Darlington Arena, releasing half-a-dozen of the players he inherited and lining up eight new signings for Darlo's first campaign in 20 years in the Blue Square Premier.
In the meantime, he has fielded a very youthful line-up for the last six weeks of the season, blooding several of the club's Academy talent in recent games and this week offered three of them full professional terms for next season.
The policy has brought them three victories from the last eight games, notably a fine 2-1 away victory at second placed Rochdale.
Darlo also come into tomorrow's game on the back of an impressive 2-0 away victory over Macclesfield and Davey says he has high hopes of an early return to League football and his side will want to prove that in their final game in League football for a season, at least.
It's only two seasons since the County Durham club were in the Promotion play-offs themselves, under Dave Penney, now boss at League 1 Oldham and they seem to be going down in much more buoyant mood than looked the case just a couple of months ago.
The Darlington Arena is a stadium with fond memories for Daggers fans. It was there two seasons ago that John Still's side staged a remarkable recovery from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in the penultimate game of their first League campaign, to preserve their league status.
Daggers know that only victory will gurantee them a play-off place and it might even propel them a place up the table to sixth, if the clash between sixth placed Morecambe and Aldershot, who are fifth, ends all square.
Paul Benson will again wear the protective mask over his broken nose as John Still sticks with the same line-up that grabbed last weekend's last gasp win over Hereford.
County Durham referee David Webb takes charge of a fixture involving Daggers for the very first time.
Likely line-ups: Darlington: Liversedge; Arnison, White, Miller, Milne; Moore, Smith (G), Dempsey, McReady, Convery; Smith (M).
Dagenham & R: Roberts; Ogogo, Doe, Arber, McCrory; Green, Vincelot, Gain, Nurse; Benson, Scott.
Referee: David Webb
