KEVIN BURGESS describes himself as a natural leader and is eager to take the armband should captain Gary Brown leave Darlington before the start of the season.

Brown remains on the transfer list, a fortnight after announcing he wishes to leave for family reasons, but as yet negotiations with interested parties have not reached a successful conclusion.

So Brown remains skipper, but Burgess is eager to take the role if offered it by manager Martin Gray.

“I fancy being captain, definitely. If it comes up I’ll definitely want it,” said the defender, who moved to the club from Whitby Town at the end of last season.

“I’m a leader and I think that’s why Martin’s brought me into the club. I’m a shouter, I never give up and if we’re getting beat 2-0 I’ll think we can win 3-2, I’ve got a never give up mentality.

“I get the lads going, that’s in my personality and if the captaincy comes up then I’d want it.

“Everywhere I go expect to start. Martin hasn’t promised anything but hopefully in training and in games he’s been looking at me and I’m hoping to start.”

The equally experienced Phil Turnbull, a fellow summer signing, is also a contender for the captaincy having held the role while at Gateshead.

Burgess is one three players in Gray’s squad to have joined from Whitby, Tom Portas and Graeme Armstrong being the others having moved a year ago, and the trio will face their former club today when Darlington play their latest pre-season friendly.

With a fortnight to go before the season starts, trialists will again bolster Gray’s squad, one which Burgess rates highly, though he has warned supporters to expect a step up in standards following promotion in May.

He said: “The supporters can expect to see a change in standard – bigger, faster, stronger. It’ll be a really tough season. We won’t be going into one game thinking ‘yeah, we’ll turn these over no problem’.

“Every game will be tough, but this squad can win most games and I think we can challenge at the top.

“The fans can expect good things. This is the best squad I’ve been in since I left Darlington and we will be challenging in that top five for promotion.

“The other teams will be Ashton, Workington are a good team, Salford are another one.

“I’ve been itching for the season to start as soon as the last one was over. I like a week’s holiday but that’s it, I’ve been looking forward to this one starting for months.”

Having left Darlington in 2008 having had a spell in the youth team after leaving Middlesbrough, Burgess was with Whitby for seven seasons but admits he grew frustrated.

Since winning promotion in 1997-98, when Harry Dunn was manager, Whitby have not been promoted or relegated.

Burgess added: “Whitby are a good club, a family-based club, but they’re a mid-table club and I’m after a bit of ambition and Darlington will offer that.

“I spoke to Martin about his ambitions for the club and obviously I’d played for Martin before so I already knew what he is all about.

“He’s talking about a promotion train and all the good players in the squad. I’m a winner and I know Darlington Football Club has a lot of winners in the squad so this change is right for me.”