DARWEN manager Steve Wilkes reckons his side have a great chance of challenging for promotion this season - but he'd like to keep quiet about it!

The Anchor Ground side have 14 games left - nine of them against sides in the bottom seven of NWCL Division Two.

After a morale-boosting 4-1 win at home to Oldham Town on Saturday, Wilkes is hoping his team can build from there.

"We've only got one game to play against a team above us and that's Blackpool on Wednesday.

"I don't want to say we are going to do this and that, we are just taking each game one at a time."

Darwen, who travel to Holker tomorrow, lie eighth with 37 points and five games in hand on second-placed Formby, who have 57 points.

"I have always had good results against Holker as a manager and a player and hopefully we'll keep that going."

Darwen have to play Ashton twice, Bacup twice, Castleton twice and Cheadle twice, all sides who are in the bottom few, before the end of the season.

"We are going to be playing a lot of games and results tend to get silly when you're playing Saturday-Tuesday-Thursday but we have a chance.

"I have quite a big squad now - I had 18 players on Tuesday night without Scott Derbyshire (knee) and Lee Webb (ankle).

"And with someone like Paul Baker in the side you know you have a chance.

"He has got 26 now this season and at 37 he is the most professional player I have ever known.

"He is always at training, always early for matches and his boots are always spotless."

WILKES would like us to point out that he told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph last week that Rovers would win the Worthington Cup 2-1 - and he even said Andy Cole would score the winner!