Striker Akpo Sodje has denied he is about to leave Darlington and has reiterated his desire to win promotion with the club.

With manager David Hodgson working hard to bring in new players before the transfer window closes at midnight tomorrow, there has been talk of Sodje leaving.

Hodgson is hoping to bring in South African striker Dale Studzinski while a move for former forward Barry Conlon, now out in the cold at Barnsley, has also been mooted, leaving a question mark hanging over the future of Sodje.

He admits he has heard about his so-called impending exit, but after scoring in Saturday's 4-0 win over Mansfield Town the forward has branded such talk as pure speculation.

"My future is with Darlington and I am concentrating on that," said Sodje who has now scored six times this season. "There have been rumours flying around about my future but I have a contract until the end of the season and I want to see us get promotion.

"Lots of people seem to think my contract was up in January but it never was, I signed a one-year deal which runs out in May."

On Saturday Sodje was handed his first start since being sent off at Lincoln City on New Year's Eve and scored Quakers' second goal of the day, capitalising on poor defending before beating the keeper at the near post.

He says the goal was his way of way of seeking redemption after that red card which earned a three-game ban at the same time Guylain-Ndumbu-Nsungu left the club.

He said: "I think everyone, the fans, players and management, deserved a goal from me after my sending-off at Lincoln.

"It's been hard for me since then so I'm really glad I scored," said Sodje who will be 26 tomorrow.

"I have watched the video of the red card a couple of times and I still do not think it should have been a sending-off, but I still had to do something for the team after that.

"Training has been going well, the manager has just told me to keep on going as my chance would come - I got my chance today and scored and now I want to do it again."

It was his first goal at the 96.6TFM Darlington Arena since the first home game of the season and Sodje added: "It has been a while since I scored at home and I am so delighted that I scored in front of our fans, at the right end of the ground too where our fans are. I always dance after I score, I love scoring!"