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MARTIN GRAY: We started the season with only one player, but we're now the Manchester United of non-league

PUBLISHED: 05:12 EST, 4 December 2013 | UPDATED: 08:56 EST, 4 December 2013

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Martin Gray, Darlington assistant manager

Martin Gray is the manager of Darlington 1883. When he took over 12 months ago, the North East club, who had been relegated four divisions from the conference as a result of financial penalties, had no ground and one player signed on. But Gray (right) guided them to promotion...

The Footballers' Football Column with Martin Gray

When I joined Darlington in June of last year, we had been relegated four divisions from the Conference National to the Ebac Northern Football League Division One. We had one player signed on. He was Phil Gray (not my ex-Sunderland team-mate) who I had to take on because he was contracted to the previous regime. Everybody else had left. So, other than him, we started with a blank piece of paper.

He was on a fortune and lasted two months.

We had no other players when I agreed to take the job after acting chairman Denis Pinnegar appointed me.

My first signing was Harry Dunn as chief scout. He had been very successful at Blyth Spartans and Whitby Town, knew the players at this level after 30 years and wanted to stay involved in the game. I also brought in former Sunderland players Brian Atkinson and Tony Norman as coaches.

Champagne moment: Darlington 1883 boss Martin Gray toasts promotion from the Northern League last season

White elephant: Financial mismanagement, including handling of the huge Darlington Arena, ended in the club being relegated five divisions and re-forming

More from The Footballers' Column...

We watched at least 30 players between June and July in pre-season. Players were uncertain about joining us at first because they were concerned they wouldn’t get paid. I very quickly worked out it was about lads wanting to come to play for Darlington. It was not about the money because that had gone altogether.

We made a good start and then it was easier to recruit players. At the start, it was uncertain and it was hard to guarantee we could pay them, but as it turned out we could.

We signed 16 and the players came into an environment where they were treated like professionals. They had to get used to being asked to sign autographs for fans after matches. It was a big thing because they are all good working-class lads and it was a novelty for them and it made the club very attractive.

Lads come to games in club suits and have all their training kit provided by the club, which is perhaps something they have never had. We have training sessions which are a very high standard to improve players, warm-downs, massages, ice baths, scouting reports on the opposition – stats, set-pieces, individual reports from Harry Dunn, you name it.

It was everything our players had at Oldham, where I was Dave Penney’s assistant, and everything I would have expected as a player at Sunderland.

It meant there were no excuses on match days.

Yes that has cost money and not many clubs can afford to do it but the club, and fans, have found the money and the spirit.

But you are only as good as the people around you and I have been very lucky with my staff, and having the likes of Brian Atkinson, former Darlington captain Sean Gregan and goalkeeping coach Tony Norman. I know I can trust them.

We did a lot of team-building exercises, like quad-biking, clay pigeon shooting, boxing, which I learned from Peter Reid and Roy Keane. Last year, when we were getting towards the run-up to the end of the season, I did wonder if cracks would start to appear but we gelled.

The team bonding days kept the players together for longer periods which I felt was important because

We had plenty of team days out under Reidy when I played under him at Sunderland and, as one of the Academy coaches at Sunderland, we all heard about Roy Keane’s team-building exercises for his squad.

As much as we make it professional, they are not professional players, they are part-time. If there is one thing that drives me mad, that’s it. If I had them full-time we could make them even better players. One of the frustrations I had was that, being part-time, I saw them maybe two nights a week. At a professional club, you can see them every day.

We have plumbers, joiners, teachers who potentially finish work at three and then have to go down to Liverpool on a Tuesday night, getting back at two in the morning.

Our striker Stephen Thompson went in to work on a production line at a factory in Peterlee early in the morning to start his nightshift early, then travelled to the North West to play for us, we dropped him off at the factory to finish his nightshift until six in the morning. And he is our top player.

Phoenix: Darlington went from League Two all the way down to the Northern Football League Division One and had to reform as Darlington 1883

Up for a cup: Gray celebrates promotion after final-day victory over Guisborough Town

Winning team: Darlington's victorious squad celebrate at Heritage Park, the ground they share with Bishop Auckland

Because of our financial situation we were relegated five leagues at the end of the 2011/12 season and we weren’t allowed to enter the FA Cup for two seasons. We had to carry on the debt of £300,000. That would have killed most clubs but thanks to our fan-base - and Darlington have a hardcore of about 1,000 fans who have stuck with us - we have been able to keep going.

We are the 20th best supported club in non-league, which is tremendous for a club five divisions below the conference.

It’s thanks to them we are still around at all.

We added to the squad of 16 over the season and spent a few quid. After Christmas, we spent some money and brought in Stephen Thompson, Terry Galbraith and David Dowson. I was able to do it because the club dug deep and found the money.

We got off to a good start, winning 13 of the first 14 games.

When the heavy snow came, I said we had to do everything to get the games played. And we did. The fans and the players came in to clear snow from the pitch to make sure we played at three o’clock.

Team building: Peter Reid, Gray's manager at Sunderland, influenced his management style

Our main rivals were always going to be Spennymoor, who went on to win the FA Vase at Wembley. At one stage, they had 15 games in hand on us. We played them at Spennymoor on a Friday night, biggest crowd there since the 1950s, nearly 3,000 people, every man and his dog from North East non-league was there. We beat them 3-1. There were 12 games to go from that and Spennymoor were still in every cup competition.

They were playing, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday for weeks on end. It was always going to go against them. Even though they had double the size of my squad, mentally and physically, it was just too much.

They extended the season by three weeks. Fortunately, we’d won the league by then. Spennymoor still accumulated 109 points, which was a great effort.

We lost four games out of the 46 all season and won 40, winning 122 points, scoring 145 goals and conceding just 35. And we were promoted to the Evo-Stick Northern League First Division.

It was always going to be difficult for the Darlington supporters, especially having to move out of town to play games. Without them there would be no club now. They were allowed to keep the club but they had to go Bishop Auckland every week which is 10 miles for a home game.

The ground-sharing is about right for where the club sits at the moment and we have been fortunate to secure excellent facilities.

There was a real buzz about the place when we played our first game against Bishop in front of 2000 punters. To get that at non-league level, 10 miles from ‘home,’ was amazing.

We are like the Manchester United of our division because everyone wants to beat us and we have to deal with that. The expectations of the fans are high and the pressure on myself is massive. We went to Lancaster this season and took 500 travelling fans. These clubs have never had that before but it increases the pressure on me and the players.

This season, the step up has been hard, especially with all the travelling and midweek games.

At the moment we are sixth and in the mix. We are six points behind second-placed Curzon Ashton who have three games in hand and are the only unbeaten non-league team in England. Warrington Town are top.

We want to be in the top five play-off places this season.

Pitch to dugout: Gray had a two-year spell with the Quakers at the turn of the millennium

I was a trainee joiner playing non-league football when Denis Smith signed me for Sunderland. I played in the first team within six months. That will never happen now. I played for Ferryhill who were in the Northern League, the same division we won last year. I had a joiner’s apprenticeship with Sedgefield District Council.

I was spotted playing for Durham County Under 18s side by Jimmy Morrow who lived in Shincliffe near Durham. He was the director of youth at Sunderland who recommended me to Malcolm Crosby, then youth team coach.

I was offered a trial, stayed for two months, but because I had started the apprenticeship with the government, Sunderland could only give me a six month contract initially. After that period I was offered a professional contract at the age of 18.

I got a phonecall from Sunderland manager Denis Smith. 'Just to let you know son we’ve put some tickets aside for your family. You’re on the bench tomorrow night'. I didn’t sleep a wink that night. We played Liverpool at Roker Park and I remember sitting on the bench watching Ian Rush and Co, thinking less than a year ago I was playing against Blyth Spartans in the Northern League.

I didn’t come on that night but I just couldn’t believe I was sat there.

I know I was not a very talented, natural, eye-catching type of player. I was a hard-working, typical old-fashioned, very aggressive midfielder who stopped the better players playing. That was my job. I don’t pretend otherwise and never did. But you don’t see many of those in the Premier League these days.

Look at teams now in the Premier League and those holding midfielders in my position are mainly foreigners and it is harder for English players to get in at that level.

The only way out of it is for the FA to introduce a rule so teams can only play four foreign players but it will never happen. But it would highlight which academies are working.

In the Spanish and German leagues over 80 per cent are Spanish or German players. In this country, 80 per cent of our teams are made up of foreigners.

No wonder they are winning or challenging for the World Cup and the European Championships. How can we hope to compete and produce better footballers?

Too many foreign players: The game is flooded with overseas players, stifling English talent, says Gray

Recruitment: Foreign bosses (pictured, Arsene Wenger) are more likely to sign players from their home

It boils my blood every day that we stifle young talent in this country with this obsession of bringing in foreign players. And it goes right down to the grassroots. When I did play at Sunderland, the first foreign player we had was German international Thomas Hauser, who was a great lad and, to be fair, a great professional.

But overall, the dressing room was saturated with lads from the British Isles.

What does not help is the changeover of managers and the number of foreign managers, particularly in the Premier League. Unfortunately, they are bound to look abroad for new signings and the academies can’t get enough players in the first team squad.

The North East traditionally is a hotbed for young talent but it is harder to get into the Premier League squads. Round here, it might happen at the likes of Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Carlisle and York City but not in the Premier League. The top end is saturated and the development of English players is stifled.

Sadly Middlesbrough are no longer in the Premier League, but, thanks to the investment of Steve Gibson and the hard work of Dave Parnaby, they have brought through dozens of local players. And they have produced England internationals and made millions in sales for the club. Where would they be without the academy?

At Sunderland in recent years only Jack Colback and Jordan Henderson have broken into the first team. Paul Dummett at Newcastle is 22 and just got into the first team squad. Before that we had Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor, and you could include Tim Krul.

It’s not enough.

Drying up: The North East has produced the likes of Stewart Downing and is traditionally a hotbed of footballing talent, but it is less prominent these days than in the past

Allez le Toon: Newcastle, for example, are predominantly made up of French players

Part of the problem is that young lads at professional clubs get too much too soon. I have seen them lose that desire and drive that got them there in the first place. I enjoy every day working with lads in my academy because the expectations of a professional footballer compared to these young lads is refreshing.

They want to learn, they want to listen, they want to impress, they want to better themselves, if they are the right type of kid, which invariably they are.

Yet we are losing kids in this country who fall out of love with the game because they know from a young age they are not going to make it. At 16, if you are not at a Premier League or pro club, it is going to be very difficult to pop up in the system. But you could say the same at a very young age for most young lads, sadly and truthfully.

But there is a living to be made out of the game for everyone who loves it.

A player playing part-time, non-league football can earn good money to pay his mortgage. And, in the North East the standard is very good and we have a good tradition of clubs who do well in the FA Vase and FA Trophy. You can seriously dream about playing at Wembley one day. Not many professionals can say that.

Every club wants its own players coming through and Darlington should be no different to professional clubs in our approach to developing players in its own academy. I see that as one of my main priorities as manager. As long as I am involved, we will have that link to bring players to the first team. This season, two of our academy players have made their first team and three more are contracted to the squad.

For me, it is a marriage made in heaven. That is the future of Darlington 1883 Football Club. It has to be.

And it works well for me because I have a part-time management role with Darlington. If I was offered a full-time job in the game now I would have to say no because I am committed to these schools, these families, the academy, my staff and Darlington Football Club.

My life is built around my business and part of that is Darlington Football Club. People buy into the name and if I am not at the academy, it will not work.

Lower leagues: Gray had spells at Sunderland, Oxford and Darlington, and loans at Aldershot and Fulham

I set up the Martin Gray Football Academy in after manager Dave Penney and I were sacked by Oldham Athletic. Initially, I went to schools, a bag of balls on my back, putting on sessions for £30 an hour. Now I have 15 full-time administrators, coaches, and office staff running things behind the scenes.

The first course was set up at Darlington College at Eastbourne Sports Complex which is the headquarters for the academy.

We now have courses at Framwellgate School in Durham and King James School in Bishop Auckland and hopefully we are finding the best young talent in South Durham to promote to the first team. You can see young players with your own eyes and bring them through and that excites me.

David Beckham has helped opened up opportunities in the United States and we’re sending students there to earn good money. The diploma in BTEC Level 3 in Sport enables kids to go off and find a university course to become a PE teacher or sports scientist or other related courses to remain in sport in some capacity.

We have had lads go on to football scholarships in colleges in the United States, which are fully-funded and because of the standard of football over there now, the profile is ten-fold compared to when David Beckham first went over.

He has helped make it a very attractive sport to millions of Americans and their kids, and if you can’t make it as a player there, there are plenty of opportunities for coaching.