DARLINGTON Rugby Football Club (DRFC) has turned a corner and is back in the black, say club bosses amid rumours its finances are standing in the way of the groundshare with the Quakers.

Mike Wilkinson, chair of the rugby club, said he was frustrated about "speculation and disinformation" which suggested the club was in a poor financial position.

Accounts for 2011 to 2014 show the club has lost about £25,000 a year and has debts of about £175,000.

However, Mr Wilkinson said work to address the finances meant the club made a small profit in 2015.

The club chairman said among the steps to ensure profitability was the difficult decision to make several redundancies earlier this year.

The Northern Echo understands some of those made redundant are considering legal action against the club for unfair dismissal.

Mr Wilkinson, who will chair the club's annual general meeting on Thursday, said the club would follow the legal process.

The rugby club has been in discussions about sharing its Blackwell Meadow facilities with Darlington FC which wants to return home after three years of playing at Bishop Auckland FC's Heritage Park.

Talks have broken down recently with Darlington MP Jenny Chapman saying she was worried the rugby club was getting "cold feet".

But Mr Wilkinson said the club remained committed to the groundshare proposal and had already reached agreement with the football club and council on key issues, including car parking, clubhouse modifications and funding.

However, he added: "The retail and commercial side remain unsolved to the satisfaction of Darlington FC.

"This unfortunately resulted in the DRFC having to acknowledge the Darlington Football Club's unilateral decision to suspended any ongoing work streams concerning Blackwell Meadows and to withdraw from negotiations concerning the groundshare."

The chairman said there was still time, if the clubs settled their differences soon, to do the necessary work to the pitch for the Quakers to be playing at Blackwell Meadows at during the coming season.

However, he stressed that agreement would need to be reached quickly.

He added that rumours the club was looking to prevent football fans from using the clubhouse facilities on match days were not true.

Mr Wilkinson said the club had been working for more than two years with football club representatives on the groundshare plans.

"If the football club is not coming then we will wish them well, but we know we will have done all we can to make this groundshare happen," he added.

The club chairman said that if the groundshare with Darlington FC did not take place, the aim of creating a sporting hub would still be achieved at the ground, although it would take longer.