NEW Darlington signing Liam Hardy is relishing the twin-pronged challenge of earning a place in the team and helping the club achieve promotion.

The Evo-Stik Premier Division’s leading scorer arrived today from Buxton, signing a two-and-a-half year contract, and he hopes to play a part in tomorrow's encounter at Salford City.

Hardy scored in each of Buxton’s games against Darlington this season, a header on the opening day of the season and then a long-range strike at Heritage Park only ten days ago.

It was his 19th league goal of the season and his last for Buxton, and he would dearly love to score his first for Darlington tomorrow.

Whether he starts is another matter, as Quakers go into the contest in good form, with manager Martin Gray having named the same starting XI for the last seven fixtures, during which Darlington are unbeaten.

“I can’t wait to get going, really looking forward to it,” said Hardy, who scored 57 goals in 85 appearances for Buxton.

“I’m not expecting to be walking straight into the side, but we’ll have healthy competition.

“The lads have been flying, winning games, and that’s why they’re up there in the table. I’m just relishing the opportunity to break into the team.

“Promotion is definitely the aim, especially looking at where Darlington are in the league, and Martin has talked about the future of the club.”

Hardy will meet his Darlington team-mates for the first time before today’s game, though he would have joined the squad back in August if Gray had his way.

Quakers’ boss had long since registered his interest in the player, who says he was impressed with Gray’s team when playing in Buxton’s 3-1 defeat to Darlington last week.

Hardy said: “I knew all about the interest, the Buxton manager told me, but they weren’t keen on letting me go, so it got scuppered really.

“I was happy there, they were good lads, but when Darlington came round again I thought it might be a good time for a change.

“Darlington have a lot of ambition and Martin’s a really good guy, so I’ve been told, everybody has said good things about the club, so I’ve jumped at the chance.

“They were really good, really strong, and they had some great attacking options out wide.

“They get the ball in the box a lot, I noticed that, and they create many opportunities.

“It was a really good game, I enjoyed it. It’s a really nice set-up and the crowd are a good 12th man.”

Hardy is Doncaster-based – “It’s not too far, not a bad run, and it’s better roads than going to Buxton anyway” – and is familiar with several Darlington players from his time at Harrogate Town.

Graeme Armstrong, Adam Mitchell, Adam Nowakowski and Alan White were all team-mates at various points.

Having book-ended his 24 goals in all competitions this season with goals against Darlington, he hopes to top 30 for the season in Quakers colours.

“The first goal against Darlington was a header,” he said. “I’m not really known for my heading, but it wasn’t a bad one. The goal two weeks ago was a lot better. It’s up there as one of my better goals this season.

“I’ve got 24 all in all, 19 in the league and the rest in cups. I got 27 last year, so I should beat that. I’ve been out for six weeks as well, I broke my wrist in the FA Trophy against FC United.

“I want to finish on about 30, anything above that would be great.”

Hardy’s arrival concludes a long-running pursuit for Gray. “I’ve tried two or three times to get him, I’ve followed him all season and made a few enquiries,” he said.

“His pace is something that is going to make us better, he is great off the shoulder.

“His finishing is very good. He’s scored 19 league goals in about 23 games – he was out for a bit with a broken hand – so that statistic tells you a lot.”

Thirteen months ago Gray pulled off a similar coup by bringing in Nathan Cartman, then the division’s leading scorer for Harrogate RA, and he went on to play a key part in Quakers’ promotion.

The manager hopes his latest recruit can make a similar impact as Cartman, who Hardy played alongside for Railway earlier in his career.

Gray said: “I did the same this time last year at the exact same stage.

“It was an injection of just what we needed and hopefully Liam will come in and do exactly the same as Nathan has done for us over the last year.

“He’s scored two goals against us and another one was offside. He’ll be a great addition to our squad.

“One thing I do know is that he’s a really top lad and he will fit into my changing room very well. I’ve done a lot of homework on him, on his personality, and he fits the bill, which is really important to me.”

Six of Hardy’s 19 goals this campaign came with back-to-back hat-tricks in December, against Barwell and Mickleover Sports, the first one coming within the space of three minutes.