SIX weeks into his delayed start to the season, Josh Falkingham is enjoying being part of a team once again and pulling the strings in Darlington’s engine room.

He was without a club when the season started, left kicking his heels after being released by Dunfermline last May, before picked up by Quakers last month and the industrious midfielder has quickly become a first choice in Martin Gray’s team by starting the last five games.

His debut was a loss a Lancaster City in the FA Cup, Darlington’s only away defeat this season, and they aim to continue their good run on the road tomorrow at sixth-top Harrogate Town.

Tomorrow’s fixture will attract around 1,000 Quakers supporters, and the fixture is also close to home for Leeds-based Falkingham, who was in the youth system at Elland Road alongside Nathan Cartman.

“This is the most professional part-time club I could have come to,” said Falkingham. “The set-up, the number of fans it has got, it’s a good club and it’s up there as one of the most professional clubs you could think of at this level.

“Even though the club is part-time, it’s striving for bigger and better things.

“I came here not knowing much about the league and not knowing any of the lads apart from Nathan Cartman, but I’m settled now and it’s good to be part of a team that is winning every week.

“We’ve got momentum and the mentality is just to win. It’s been a good month and hopefully we can keep on winning.”

Darlington are unbeaten in seven league games during which they have scored 21 goals, five of them last Saturday against Gainsborough Trinity, and are second, leaving Falkingham hopeful of a second successive promotion.

He was part of the Dunfermline team promoted to the second tier of Scottish football last season, and he said: “The standard here is similar to where I’ve been. I don’t think there’s much difference to where I’ve been, there’s some good players in our side and some match-winners.

“My focus now is on this division, on Darlington and on concentrating on playing well every week.”

Tomorrow’s game, which will see supporters segregated, will see Harrogate aiming to bounce back from Tuesday’s 2-0 home loss to Kidderminster Harriers.

“It’s not too far away for me and the Yorkshire lads in the team,” added Falkingham. “Harrogate are doing well, so it’s going to be a tough game and one that we’ll need to be ready for because if we’re not at the high standards that we’ve set then we’ll get punished.

“As players, you want to keep your standards as high as possible, and if you dip below them, no matter what the scoreline is, the manager is going to put you in your place.

“In the second half last Saturday we didn’t reach the standards that we should’ve done, but we won comfortably. We won 5-1, you’d take that before any game of football.”