DARLINGTON last night made captain Kevin Burgess available for transfer.

The defender has been with the club since the summer of 2015, when he joined from Whitby Town.

He played a pivotal role in his first season, scoring 11 goals in 42 league appearances while captaining Quakers to the Evo-Stik First Division North title.

He was a regular last season too as Darlington established themselves in the National League North, but he suffered injury problems towards the end of the campaign and he has played only four games this time around.

His most recent appearance came last Saturday when Darlington were beaten 3-0 by South Shields in the FA Cup at Blackwell Meadows.

The team’s performance angered manager is Martin Gray and as a result of some poor results - one win in nine matches - he is keen to bring some new players to the club, but must be creative in creating funds.

Gray’s team, who are 11th, go to 17th-placed Boston United on Saturday.

Burgess is not available for the game as he is suspended having being shown a red card in last Wednesday's 3-0 win over FC United of Manchester.