Darlington skipper Kevin Burgess says that he has never looked forward to a season so much – and the big kick off is still over two months away.

Kev, in his second spell as a player with Quakers, last week signed a new two year deal, which means that come August he will be starting his third season at the club. He has started 71 matches for Quakers in the last two seasons, scoring 15 times.

“There were a lot of highs last season, but unfortunately it finished on a low,” he said. “We want to put that right next season, and we feel now that we have massive unfinished business.

“We finished fifth last season, and only three points off second. We showed that we can compete with all the teams in this league – Halifax went up, and we took four points off them.

“There will be plenty of competition in the league next season, and there will be local derbies against York, Harrogate, Spennymoor and Blyth. I’ve got lots of friends at these clubs, and the games will be very competitive.

“I’m really looking forward to the start of the season – in fact I’ve never looked forward to the start of a season so much.”