Story by Kevin Luff - 1st May 2007

Gray (back) and Penney (front) getting on well

Despite speculation that manager Dave Penney would bring in his own assistant Martin Gray has remained the Darlington boss' right hand man since his appointment in October. The Darlington assistant manager who successfully managed the youth team prior to his step upwards feels the pair have worked well together.

"He has been fantastic. He is very open to what other people have got to say and it has worked very well between me and the manager. It couldn't have worked any better to be honest, on and off the training pitch. It has been really encouraging," said Gray.

Having worked successfully with the youth team Gray took over temporary charge of first team affairs ahead of Penney's appointment and steadied the ship. Gray is no stranger to being assistant manager having filled the role during the 2003/04 campaign which saw the club scrap against relegation.

Whilst Gray admits he was as nervous about his future at the club as much as anyone else he has simply got on with his job and feels his strong work ethics would always reflect positively on himself.

"It's always a concern when a new manager comes in," said the Darlington assistant manager. "But you have your own personal standards and if they are good enough and people see that then it's down to people above you to make the decisions. We have very similar philosophies on the game, which is great."