THE chief executive of Darlington Football Club spoke last night of his delight at securing the Quakers' place in the Football League next season.

League bosses approved the Sterling Consortium's take-over of the club on Monday, paving the way for the new owners to begin a radical overhaul.

The governing body's decision ended months of tension for supporters, who saw the Quakers collapse into administration in December.

Chief executive Andy Battison and Sterling financier Stewart Davies heard the long-awaited news when they met league officials in Preston, Lancashire.

Mr Battison said: "It was a good meeting. We presented our draft plans and they confirmed that we are on the fixture list for next year, which we're delighted about."

New commercial manager Bob Gorrill, who has joined the club from Third Division rivals Mansfield Town, began work yesterday and will play a major role in rebranding the Neasham Road stadium.

A top priority is securing a corporate sponsor for the re-naming of the former Reynolds Arena.

Mr Battison is in the early stages of constituting a new board of directors, which for the first time will include a representative of Darlington Supporters' Trust.

"We've had preliminary discussions with a couple of people and those talks will move forward with a vengeance now," he said.

"We're prioritising things and moving forward as quickly as we can in a structured way."

The backing of the Football League was essential to complete the Quakers' escape from the threat of liquidation.

Club officials expected to secure the backing after a Sterling-funded company voluntary arrangement was approved by a majority of creditors.

Creditors unhappy with the settlement - they received less than a penny for every pound they were owed - are awaiting the outcome of two investigations.

Both the Department of Trade and Industry and the Insolvency Practitioners' Association are looking into the links between Sterling and Darlington's administrators, Wilson Field.