NEW Darlington manager David Hodgson last night warned George Reynolds to call a truce in his burgeoning battle with the club's fans - or risk being forced out.

Hodgson reckons the parlous state of Darlington's team has been overshadowed by Reynolds's high profile that has seen him ban supporters from the stadium and draw up controversial plans to host car boot sales and build a nightclub.

After fans demonstrated against Reynolds following last Saturday's defeat to Bury, Hodgson told the controversial chairman to keep his pledge to move into the background.

Hodgson, who will not be at today's game at Oxford United, said: "It's got to the point where George is fighting every single battle and now he's fighting the fans, and you can't do that.

"When that happens, you're on your way out. I've seen fans get players, managers and chairmen out, and that's the last thing the club needs at the moment.

"He has to realise he has a football club that he has to keep alive - and you need the fans to do that.

"George has to make a conscious effort to listen to what people say, come out of the limelight and let things simmer.

"It might not change the result on a Saturday, but it will change the public's attitude and it will make the team the most important thing.

"There's so much going on off the field with the car boot sale and nightclub licences.

"It was as if the team wasn't important any more - but the team is the most important thing within any football club.

"When George arrived at the club, he was bigger than Marco Gabbiadini.

"But it was the vast majority of fans that turned on George last week.

"Unfortunately, the relationship between George and the Darlington public has deteriorated immensely. I can't build that back; it will take George to build it.

"George needs to take a few Saturdays away from the limelight and away from fans pointing and shouting at him.

"If he does that, he can see how the team does and also what the fans do.

"There's day-to-day work that George needs to do at the club, but he also has to look at the big picture."

Hodgson breezed into the Quakers hotseat yesterday - and made avoiding relegation his sole target for the rest of the season.

Darlington are only above the relegation zone on goal difference and face a difficult trip this afternoon to high-flying Oxford.

Six straight League defeats have sent Darlington into a nosedive and Hodgson is pragmatic about his side's aims for the next six months.

He said: "The most important thing is to get away from the relegation zone. Our target is to avoid relegation, and anything after that would be a bonus.

"The consequences would be horrendous if things went wrong. When I came back at Feethams, the debt was probably considerably less than it is now because of the stadium.

"Our League position was slightly worse then because we were second-bottom and three points above the bottom club, who had a game in hand on us.

"But I always tell the truth - I don't fib or trot out stupid anecdotes - and we're focused on a relegation battle at the moment."

Hodgson met the Darlington players for the first time yesterday and claimed they were "very lively" in training.

He has ruled out strengthening the squad, except in an emergency, until after next week's FA Cup tie at Hornchurch.

The new boss will only take charge on Monday - but he has already told the squad they could have only one match to prove themselves.

Hodgson added: "It's a clean slate for everyone and I'll let the team remain as it is for the one-off game against Hornchurch.

"At the end of that game, I'll make decisions about where we need new players, or if we don't need to bring anyone in if they do well. The coaching staff said they were very lively in training and that's fine, but what counts is what happens on Saturday afternoon.

"I had a quick chat with the players after training and told them to go out and enjoy their football against Oxford."

Read more about the Quakers here.