DAVID Hodgson is going nowhere and neither are Darlington.

As a miracle did not happen at the weekend, Quakers will again be in the bottom division of the Football League next season and Hodgson says he will stay in charge, desperate to secure the promotion he craves.

Despite Darlington failing to secure a top-seven finish, before Saturday's final game of the season he made it clear that he was not going to quit.

"If I thought the right decision was for me to leave I would do it, but it isn't because I haven't won promotion yet," he declared.

Given that Quakers have gone backwards this season - earning less points and winning less games - perhaps that claim was a little presumptuous as the relatively new chairman, George Houghton, could be planning a fresh start by bringing in a new boss with new ideas.

Conversely, he may be about to hand Hodgson a blank cheque and say "go and sign whoever you like."

That's all conjecture but, thanks to a self-imposed media blackout, guesswork is all supporters are left with. Nobody knows Houghton's motives.

When he arrived in March a low-profile entrance was welcomed. After all, many still wince at the memory of George Reynolds' arrival in a blaze of publicity in 1999.

But two months down the line dignified has turned to secretive as all requests for interview, via the club's PR firm, are turned down.

Supporters are left asking 'who is this fella', why has he bought Darlington and what does he intend to do?

So far there's little to go on, although following Saturday's game he did treat them to an astounding pledge, one Reynolds would have been proud of.

As Darlington's younger fans gathered to congratulate the players as they emerged in the directors box, despite the season being a failure, Houghton grabbed the microphone to say: "You're all absolutely fantastic fans. I'll make sure next season we win every game."

Caught up in the moment? Maybe. Unwise? Definitely.

Houghton already has form for speaking a tad hastily. After taking control of the club, in a very short BBC television interview immediately after his first game - at home to Carlisle - when asked what he thought of the 5-0 walloping he replied: "Very good."

Very good? He must have been doing cartwheels after a 1-1 draw at home to Wrexham.

So, given the mystery surrounding the chairman's intentions - other than his pledge to win 46 back-to-back matches next season - his first move being to announce that season ticket prices are going up was a bit audacious, if not brave.

For those keen enough to renew, they went on sale on Saturday but there will be many awaiting Houghton's next move before getting their wallets out.

The eighth place finish equals last season but a substandard division meant an opportunity for promotion was lost.

With 66 points Lincoln City have reached the play-offs with the lowest ever total in a 24-team division since the current format was introduced in the late 1980s - the previous low was 69 - and that says all you need to know about the quality of League Two.

For parts of a dismal first half on Saturday it did not get much more entertaining than Northern League Division Two.

Darlington only kicked into gear midway through the first half after Danny Williams' 20-yard rising strike for Wrexham.

With Lincoln starting the afternoon three points and six goals better off than Darlington, not even a late Rochdale equaliser against The Imps was enough for Quakers who themselves equalised in the dying seconds.

To begin a truly bizarre finish to the season, hundreds of youngsters mounted a pitch invasion to celebrate a goal that meant Quakers would finish eighth instead of ninth. Wow.

Then the matchball vanished, some opportunist fan ghosted through midfield and snatched it off the centre spot, before an announcement on the PA system ordered: "Please do not climb over the advertising hoardings."

Like Darlington's goal, the request was too little, too late.

But soon came the final whistle followed by another pointless, but predictable, pitch invasion.

One of the biggest cheers came after the game when it was announced Hartlepool United had been relegated and will renew rivalries next season.

"Get your season ticket now, Hartlepool will be coming here next season!" boomed the announcer.

After a disappointing season, the price increase and Saturday's first half performance, the remark was one of the few incentives Darlington fans were given to invest in a season ticket.

Hodgson has plenty of rebuilding work to do and that starts this week when he meets with the players to talk over their futures.

He will be looking to 'clear out the dead wood', as the football terminology goes, and with most of the squad out of contract he has plenty to choose from which would enable him to bring in players which will no doubt include more than one forward.

To assist the rebuilding, perhaps Quakers fans should be digging deep. In justifying the price increase, Houghton said in Saturday's programme: "Increased revenue for sales of the new tickets will be pumped into the club's playing budget in a push for success next year."

In contrast, seven years ago Reynolds followed his grandiose statement about being promoted to the Premiership in five years by at least demonstrating some ambition by slashing season ticket prices and bankrolling the transfers of several players from higher leagues.

Over to you, George the second.

Read more about the Quakers here.