THE crunch negotiations over a deal to save Darlington Football Club from extinction will take place today.

Administrator Wilson Field is holding talks with owners-in-waiting the Sterling Consortium, the finance group that holds a mortgage on the Reynolds Arena.

As a result of those discussions, a statement is due to be released tomorrow, and is expected to reveal that Sterling has agreed to take charge of the cash-strapped club.

The Northern Echo understands that it will also include confirmation that a consortium of local businesspeople, with Darlington Supporters' Trust, will work closely with Sterling in running the Quakers.

Provided creditors agree, a company voluntary arrangement deal, funded by Sterling, would bring Darlington out of administration.

Joint administrator David Field said last night: "We are meeting Sterling to try to resolve the outstanding issues. Assuming we can resolve them, an announcement will be made on Friday."

Sterling, made up of financiers Melvyn Laughton, Sean Verity and Stewart Davies, loaned £4m to former Darlington chairman George Reynolds to help complete the club's stadium.

But, if they gain control, they are expected to call on the consortium for knowledge of the Quakers and football matters in general.

The group, led by lifelong Darlington fan Mark Meynell, has spent months drawing up proposals to launch its own bid for the club, but was hindered by a lack of information about the scale of the debts.

The consortium's efforts have been backed by the 1,400-member supporters' trust, which has raised more than £50,000 for its crisis fund since the club went into administration.

Sterling has specialised in loaning money to struggling football clubs in the past, but taking charge of the Quakers will represent a new departure for the group.