Exodus Geohagon had to wait until he was almost 25 before finally reaching the Football League. Now he hopes he must wait only seven months to make the leap again.

Because the man who plucked him from non-league and handed him his chance in the Championship - Darlington manager Mark Cooper - this week brought him back to the Blue Square Bet Premier.

Cooper signed the giant centre-back for the third time having also previously taken him to Kettering and Peterborough.

Having been a free agent following a brief spell with Barnet at the beginning of the season, Cooper convinced him to pen a contract until the end of the campaign, a move that Geohagon admits he had to give some thought to.

Having plied his trade with the likes of Bromsgrove Rovers, Redditch United and then Kettering, almost two years ago Geohagon followed Cooper to Peterborough United.

It didn't work out at London Road for either party and, after short spells with other clubs, the 6ft 5in defender, with a build that would intimidate even the most muscular striker, admits his aim is to swiftly return to the Football League, ideally with Darlington.

He will make his home debut today against ninth-placed Kidderminster Harriers, and said: "I had to think about dropping down because I tried so hard to get into the Football League

"It was a big deal for me to come back and play in the Conference.

"I've got to do my best here to hopefully get back into the League, hopefully with Darlington, because that's what my aim is and have always worked hard towards it. I'll do the same at Darlington and hope to keep getting points on the board.

"I haven't played this far north before, but hopefully it's going to be a good experience. I've played at a few clubs now and whenever I've moved somewhere I've never been afraid of the transition, I've never been afraid to move somewhere new.

"So I've come here for seven months or so and plan to get my head down and get some wins.

"The boys did well last season in getting to Wembley, but now it's got to be the next step and making the play-offs and promotion."

Geohagon was released by Peterborough in August, but in reality his London Road days had been over for a year.

He did not feature at all last term as Posh sent him on loan to Rotherham, Shrewsbury and then Port Vale where his stay was cut short amid accusations he had been racially abused by his own fans.

After four games with Barnet - "they offered me something, but it wasn't really acceptable," he explained - Geohagon was a free agent.

He trained with Quakers on Monday and Cooper was delighted to complete the paperwork in time for him to play in Tuesday's 4-3 win at Stockport County.

"He's always been on my wanted list because he's a decent centre-back, as he showed the other night," said Cooper.

"I never really thought we'd get him up here to be honest, but circumstances played into our hands. He could only have one more club this season and there were one or two interested, but they didn't actually make an offer, so we've managed to get him.

"Barnet had him once this season, but they messed him about a bit. They came back in for him on Monday and it was touch and go whether he would go there or here. Hopefully my working relationship with him swung it our way."

Darlington are bidding to continue their revival having restored some pride in midweek following last Saturday's dismal display at Bath.

With Ian Miller injured - he undergoes a hernia operation today - Geohagon will today be partnered by Graeme Lee who returns after serving a one-match ban.

The new arrival will showcase his trademark long-throws, but Cooper points out there is more than that to his game. He said: "We'll be using his long throw, why not. If you've got an asset then why not use it. But Exodus' biggest asset is his defending.

"He's 6ft 5in, he's quick, he can head the ball and he's no mug.

"He did really well on Tuesday even though he'd not played for a month. The biggest problem was we had a back-four that had not played together before.

"But he was not at fault for any of the goals and towards the end he had a calmness about him which meant I never thought we would concede after we'd got the last goal."

After two-and-a-half seasons at five different clubs, Geohagon might have hoped to stay in the Football League.

But Cooper added: "You don't get anything on reputation, you've got to prove yourself and there's probably reasons why he's not in the League.

"But in coming here and working with us for a few months I'm sure next season, one way or the other, he'll be back in the League."