Carlos Logan bounded out of the dressing room fresh from playing a major role in Darlington's latest win and declared Quakers could yet win automatic promotion this season.

Had Logan said that at the beginning of last month, the claim would have been dismissed as nothing more than the ramblings of a hopeless optimist.

Yet, in the space of ten games, Darlington have resuscitated their season and the style in which they swept aside Mansfield Town on Saturday confirmed the promotion chase is well and truly on.

It was 4-0 with 25 minutes to play and more goals were there for the taking as Quakers rose to sixth while reinforcements could yet arrive before the transfer window closes tomorrow night.

Darlington are now on exactly the same points as at this stage last season, from which point they picked up 28 from a possible 48.

If they improve on that then a trip to the new Wembley could be in the offing.

But when Quakers last faced Mansfield back in September they could only draw what turned out to be the second game of a miserable run which featured two wins in 14 league matches.

The run saw David Hodgson's side slip to 15th and when they travelled to Stockport County at the beginning of last month their points total was closer to the teams in the relegation zone than those in the play-off places.

The fact some were calling for the head of Hodgson illustrated the strength of feeling at just how disappointingly Darlington's season was going.

The constantly changing team were struggling to find form or the back of the net, scoring just 11 goals in those 14 matches, and when Darlington appeared to be improving with a win at Stockport and a draw at Carlisle, disaster struck as Joey Hutchinson was lost through injury.

Then came a second major blow as leading scorer Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu left, but despite those setbacks Hodgson has managed to save the season by building a young, winning team who are scoring goals for fun.

The four goals on Saturday - and it could have been more had Darlington not closed the game down with 20 minutes to play - took Quakers' tally to ten in the five games.

The question when Ndumbu-Nsungu departed was where are the goals going to come from? Now the question is Guy who?

His exit, after ten goals in only 21 games, left a potential scoring problem but Kyle Lafferty has since bagged three in five games, including Saturday's opener, which was drilled low into the far corner after a Joe Kendrick cross.

The likes of Lafferty and Kendrick have become regulars as Hodgson finally settles on a first choice team based around a core of eight or nine regulars. That a settled side and good run have been in tandem surely can be no coincidence.

Hutchinson's injury has at least provided automatic choices at centre-back in Shelton Martis and Matt Clarke - previously Hodgson was trying to accommodate all three but it never worked.

Central midfield has seen Hodgson tinkering for most of the season and now crowd favourite Anthony Peacock cannot get into the side. But there can be no complaints as Clarke Keltie and Jonjo Dickman's return has coincided with recent good results.

Such was Darlington's dominance on Saturday, even Dickman, normally a reliable box-to-box, get-it-and-give-it sort, threw in a step-over dummy as Quakers boarded the showboat at 4-0.

The step-overs are normally left to the quick feet of Logan, who turned in a dazzling display on the left, which must have had Mansfield winger Adam Rundle looking on in envy.

His miserable return to his former club ended prematurely when he was hauled off after 57 minutes.

Logan enjoyed one of his best games for Quakers before going off as a precaution 13 minutes from time with a minor thigh problem, taking Quakers down to ten as all the subs had been used.

But by then the contest was over. Darlington's last eight strikes have come from seven different players so confidence is understandably rocketing.

Logan said: "We are scoring from all over the park now. At the start it was just Guy but now everyone is popping up with goals.

"It was a bit of a concern when Guy left, but now everybody is chipping in and we're just so happy and confident as a team.

"Carlisle, Wycombe and Grimsby are the best teams in the league but they are nothing. When we play football they are nothing to us. In the past we have slipped up against teams like Mansfield but not this time.

"Confidence is just sky high now. We know only we can let it go, it's up to us now.

"The play-off are obviously what we are aiming for but you never know, carry on playing the way we are then we could get third place."