Lee Clarke continues his series of Thursday Features, with former Darlington player and manager Gary Bennett…
Gary Bennett is backing Darlington to claim at least a top three spot in the Blue Square Bet Premier League this season.
The former Quakers manager reckons Mark Cooper faces a difficult task in bouncing back to the Football League at the first attempt due to the quality of teams in the Conference.
But he thinks Cooper is the man to do it for Darlington…
"Mark Cooper is a good appointment for the club. His knowledge of the Blue Square Premier is second to none which will no doubt be a huge advantage to the club.
"The last time Darlington were in this league the majority of the teams were part-time, now it is the other way around which can make life more difficult.
"If Mark can keep the squad together and the club can win their home games then I see no reason why Darlington cannot gain promotion.
"It is not always as straight forward as setting your stall out for automatic promotion so I think Mark Cooper would see top three as a realistic aim."
Bennett can be forgiven for feeling slightly discontented with the way his tenure as Darlington manager came to a premature end.
Now 48, the former Sunderland defender had guided Darlington to within three points of a play-off position during the 2000-01 campaign, yet was still given the dreaded axe by the chairman at the time George Reynolds.
"There were a lot of things happening at the football club at that particular time," explained Benno. "The new stadium was on its way and money was tight at the club.
"Whenever a club appears to be going places there will always be rumours flying around of managers without jobs getting linked with certain clubs. That was the case at Darlington."
Tommy Taylor was brought in to replace Bennett with the former taking a step down to control the reserve team at the club.
But Bennett doesn't hold any regrets about his time as manager.
"I thought we did OK to be honest," he said. "We were only a few points off the play-offs which wasn't bad considering the pressure we were under with everything else that was happening at the club."
Former defender Bennett shows no malice towards Reynolds, either, and thinks more chairman should take a leaf out of his book by appointing black managers in today's game.
Racism in today's football is clearly something Bennett feels very passionately about.
He said: "If you look at the percentage of black players in today's game compared to managers and coaches it is a very poor return. Nobody wants to take the gamble anymore.
"George Reynolds offered me an excellent opportunity at a time when there were very few black managers.
"I think there was myself, Keith Alexander and I believe Noel Blake had just been sacked as manager of Exeter. So there were few and far between that is for sure.
"If you take football as a whole the amount of black people involved is at the top end of the ladder is at a minimum. I mean how many black directors or chairman do we see?"
Gary, who now works promoting the 'Show Racism the Red Card' programme, speaks fondly of his time as a player at Darlington even though it came about in a strange way.
"A good friend of mine Dave Hodgson was the manager at the time and I was still contracted to Scarborough. I was coming to the end of my contract and I found out Darlington wanted me.
"Even though I was 37 at the time Scarborough wouldn't let me go without a fee. Scarborough said they wanted 20k for me, which Darlington agreed to pay and I joined as a player-coach."
Darlington went onto achieve some success that following season with the club reaching the Division Three play-off final before sadly losing 1-0 to Peterborough.
"It was a great season for the football club," said Bennett. "We were favourites for promotion and should, to be fair have been promoted.
"On a personal level I picked up an injury which took longer than expected to heal and I missed a lot of football including the final at Wembley.
"The club as a whole though should have gone up automatically. We were a few points clear but missed out by a point on the last day and had to settle for the play-offs."
One of Bennett's other highlights as a Darlington player was scoring against his former club Manchester City in a game which was broadcast live by Sky Sports.
He said: "We had a successful campaign under Hodgie. We were an exciting footballing side and managed to score lots of goals."
Gary Bennett had a successful time as a player, earning himself legendary status with Sunderland before his Darlington days, playing in a League and FA Cup Final for the Wearsiders.
He was part of the Sunderland team in the 1985 League final which they lost 1-0 to Norwich, and also lined up in the 1992 FA Cup final when Sunderland were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Wembley.
He said: "It is always a regret to lose in cup finals and would have been nice to win at least one.
"That is football though and I count myself very lucky to have lived out most young boys dream on two occasions."
"It is always a great opportunity for any player to play in a final and at least if you do lose in a final you have had your day out and experienced the whole occasion."
Bennett is currently doing work for 'Show Racism the Red Card' with former Middlesbrough players Curtis Fleming and Dean Gordon and ex-Newcastle players John Anderson and Olivier Bernard.
He is also the match summariser covering every Sunderland game for BBC Radio Newcastle.
Along with his media ties, Bennett coaches at Middlesbrough's academy where his son Andre, 15, has just signed scholarship terms.
Bennett junior can play anywhere across the back four or in midfield and has already played for the club's Under-18s side.
Extra Time with Gary Bennett
Best player played with: I was fortunate enough to play with my brother Dave. He scored in the 1987 FA Cup final for Coventry.
Best player played with: Again I played against my brother Dave who was always difficult to play against.
Player in today's game you would pay money to watch: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Team supported as a boy: Manchester City.
What newspaper do you read: The Sunderland Echo.
What irritates you the most: Ignorant people.
One sport you can't stand: I like all sports to be honest.
What would you have done had you not been a footballer: Plumber.
What was your best school subject: Maths.
What is the one rule you would change in football today: Pushing and pulling in the 18 yard box should be penalised more.
