Ian McParland admitted his Notts County side "got out of jail" following a goalless draw at home to Darlington in League Two on Saturday.McParland is convinced Dave Penney's Quakers will be right up at the business end of the table come the end of the season.

But the County boss is pressing ahead with his attempts to introduce a passing game at Meadow Lane - and claims Darlington are the yardstick.

He said: "Our fans have to remember that Darlington are a very good team and they will be there or thereabouts again at the end of the season.

"We know where we are in terms of our development and we still have a long way to go before we catch up with Darlington.

"It was a bit frustrating because I thought we were excellent for the first 25 minutes and should have gone in front. We let them into the game and then got out of jail when they hit the woodwork on two occasions."

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