NO sooner had Darlington earned their biggest win of the season, than David Hodgson was swapping his tracksuit for a tuxedo as he headed up the A1 to attend a sportsman's dinner in Newcastle.

The North-East is not a happy place for managers at the moment, with the exception of Hodgson.

Given the current predicament at St James' Park, Hodgson, on his arrival on Tyneside, might as well have been sitting down at a table for two under the name of Shepherd.

As Darlington's players warmed up on Saturday they were able to catch the latter stages of Newcastle's less than inspiring FA Cup win at Cheltenham on the big screen.

While Graeme Souness earned his latest stay of execution at Whaddon Road, it seems Hodgson can do no wrong these days.

The Quakers boss is the only manager in the region whose job isn't on the line thanks to a run of just one defeat in ten, which has lifted them from 14th to sixth in the table.

The only defeat his Quakers side have suffered in 2006 was at Notts County, and that only came about during Phil Stamp's ill-fated 45-minute appearance in goal.

But, one blip aside, Hodgson's ever-improving side are showing genuine hunger to be considered serious contenders in the League Two promotion race.

They tore struggling Mansfield Town apart on Saturday with four clinical strikes and it could easily have been more.

The Stags gave a far better account of themselves on their last visit to the North-East when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by a single goal at Newcastle.

Even on a surface which wouldn't have looked out of place in a Sunday morning pub league, Carlos Logan mesmerised the Stags back four with his skill and pace.

On the few occasions Quakers were forced on the back foot, Shelton Martis was unbreakable.

As Hodgson made his sharp exit, it was left for assistant Mark Proctor to sum up a classy Quakers display.

He said: "We kept a clean sheet and scored four terrific goals. We played some very good football, especially in the second half when we could relax a little bit."

In season's gone by it hasn't been unknown for Quakers to build themselves up after a good run, only to be shot down by teams like Mansfield.

But, as they proved on Saturday, there is little room for complacency if they are to improve on last season's eighth-placed finish and, essentially, achieve at least a play-off place in May.

The win moved Quakers up one place to sixth and Proctor admitted: "The table does make good reading at the moment.

"We're in a nice position, but there is still 16 games to go and a lot of points to play for.

"We're on a great run and long may it continue."

Quakers have now gone ten games unbeaten at home - their best sequence of results at the 96.6TFM Darlington Arena.

"Everything is rosy at the minute, but it's important we don't get too carried away," warned Proctor.

Quakers never under estimated Mansfield, despite their lowly position and, judging by the start they made, treated the game as if it was a top-of-the-table clash.

It took them just six minutes to open the scoring when Kyle Lafferty managed to squeeze the ball through a crowd of players for his third goal since joining Quakers on loan from Burnley.

Jonjo Dickman could have added a second five minutes later, but the former Sunderland midfielder could only turn his 25-yard effort wide.

Mansfield's main threat was Simon Brown, back in the side for suspended top scorer Richard Barker.

But Kasper Schmeichel, making his final appearance for the club, was far from impressed with Brown's half-hearted attempt to win his side a penalty on the half-hour mark.

In just four appearances Schmeichel has become an instant favourite and he further endeared himself to the home crowd when he saved bravely at the feet of Stephen Dawson following Clark Keltie's failure to hook the ball clear.

It wasn't until the 53rd minute that Quakers added a second through Akpo Sodje - recalled after impressing as a second half substitute at Oxford.

Stags boss Peter Shirtliff made his name as a defender in over a decade at Sheffield Wednesday and he was furious when Sodje skipped in between Kyle Jacobs and Alex Baptiste, before inflicting the final insult by firing low past Jason White at his near post.

The Stags may have pulled one back, but for the reflexes of Schmeichel, who brilliantly turned Dawson's shot over the bar in the 55th minute.

But, moments later, skipper Matt Clarke killed off any hopes Mansfield had of getting back into the game, tapping home from close range after Sodje's header across the face of goal.

When Martis made it four on 64 minutes, looping his header over Jason White after another teasing run from Logan, Quakers effectively declared.

With all three substitutes used, they could even afford to play out the remaining 13 minutes with ten men when Logan limped off with a thigh strain.

Darlington 4 - 0 Mansfield Town

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