Gerken boosted by Quakers stay

On-loan Darlington goalkeeper Dean Gerken admits his move from Colchester has been "a kick up the backside".

Gerken is expected to be allowed to extend his loan with the Quakers after his parent club extended the stay of West Ham goalkeeper Jimmy Walker on Tuesday - and the 23-year-old is happy to stay with the League Two promotion hopefuls.

"I think I needed to freshen up really," he told the club's official website. "I needed a kick in the backside and you can get a bit stale at the same club when you've been there for a long while."

He added: "Having not played first-team football for a while, I knew I had to up my game and I think that I've done that.

"Darlington are a good club and I`ve enjoyed working with (manager) Dave Penney.

"We have a lot of games coming up and it`s a good time for me to be here because it means I`m hopefully playing regularly."

Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.