DARLINGTON, England (CMC) - Next week's Caribbean Cup football finals will delay the arrival of Jamaica Reggae Boyz defender Damion Stewart at English Football League 2 club Darlington.

Darlington, ninth in the 24-team League 2 competition, offered Stewart a deal until the end of the season after he impressed on trial, but the defender will not link up with the north east England club until the end of the month.

"Damion is a player we really want to bring in and have a good look at in a first-team environment before the end of the season," Darlington manager David Hodgson told the Northern Echo.

"He's been called up to the Jamaica squad until the end of this month, so we have to be patient, but we are hoping to put together a package which is acceptable to Damion."
The Caribbean Cup will be contested in Barbados from February 20 to 24.

Meanwhile, Hodgson believes his side are capable of climbing back into the play-off places after surrendering their position in the top seven last week.

Defeat in last Saturday's disappointing 2-1 home reverse to Notts County saw the Quakers plummet a few places, but Hodgson is prepared to write the defeat off as a "bad day".

"It was hard to find plus points on Saturday, though Bobby Petta will offer more as his fitness levels improve," he said.

"It was a bad day, but we started the day in the play-off positions, and we got there with this squad, so there's no reason why we can't get back there."

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