Fifteen years after swapping a joinery apprenticeship for life as a footballer at Sunderland, Martin Gray is now carving out the careers of Darlington's next generation - and already it appears he's got it nailed.

Before retiring in September 2001, Fishburn-born Gray provided the midfield bite for both Sunderland and Darlington in his playing career and is now charged with nurturing the careers of Quakers' youth team, who recently celebrated winning their league.

Two of the team have already been involved with the first-team, while earlier this season Gray led Darlington to the third round of the FA Youth Cup - the furthest the club has reached in recent memory.

Not bad for someone who didn't want the job in the first place.

"I don't mind admitting there was a disagreement with David Hodgson," he admits. "I wanted to stay working with the first-team and not go back to being youth team coach

"But as the season has gone on it's proved to have been the right thing to do."

Last Saturday, before Darlington's 3-0 win over Shrewsbury at the Williamson Motors Stadium, Gray led his team on a lap of honour - or as close to a lap as can be managed in a stadium populated by home fans in just two stands.

Supporters gave the youngsters a great reception and not only because they recognise that those players are the future of the club.

Winning any league is an achievement, but Darlington did it with three games to spare, all the more remarkable as last season they finished bottom.

Quakers rarely do well in the FA Youth Cup but this season they reached round three and were unfortunate not to go even further, losing 1-0 at Plymouth in a game they dominated.

But Gray is quick to share the plaudits with his fellow staff in the club's youth development system, keen to stress that even off the pitch, it's a team game.

Mick Tait, like Gray an ex-Quakers midfield hardman, has been the club's youth development officer since his 12 months as Darlington manager ended in October 2003.

It's Tait that Gray works with most closely and he said: "In the youth system there's been massive improvement and that's happened since Mick came in. He works his socks off, we work very closely.

"But it's not happened overnight, it takes two or three years to get the whole system running well. This success is not just about me, it's about the other staff.

"Without good scouts we wouldn't have good kids here in the first place, and we have great coaches in the centre of excellence such as Gary Bennett, Jimmy Montgomery, Brian Atkinson, Paul Campbell, John Rutherford, Kevin Stonehouse and Billy Askew - ex-professionals coaching our 16s and unders every week. We're very fortunate to have them.

"The physios in the youth section have played their part too."

Perhaps Gray's benevolence should be expected from someone who was such a team player during his days in the engine room at three clubs, in the main, during a career that started late and finished early.

Downing tools at Wright's Construction in Sedgefield to become a Sunderland player aged 18, having caught the eye in the Northern League for Ferryhill Athletic, Gray the player may have been more mallet than mahogany, but he was an essential part of the framework at both Oxford United and Darlington.

"I wasn't the most skilful player, but I always took the club I played for to heart and would give everything," he says. "I was very determined from the start of my career.

"Because I'd had a proper job once I got into football I didn't want to let it go.

"I really appreciated that move to Sunderland because I'd seen the other side of life."

Three seasons at Oxford, from 1996-99, were followed by Hodgson taking him to Feethams in time for Darlington's promotion bid in 1999/2000.

A reliable building block of the side whose brief was to break up attacks and give possession to those that could mount them, for 18 months he was a regular before a back injury put him on the sidelines.

By the end of 2001 he had been forced to call time on his playing days, aged just 30.

Gray immediately took up a role with Quakers' youth team, a position he held until Hodgson returned to the club last season, when the manager made him his No. 2. But after helping the team stave off the threat of relegation, Hodgson brought in Mark Proctor to be his right-hand man, meaning Gray, after some persuasion, reverted to youth team duties.

Gray quickly got used to the idea and, determined as a player, determined as a coach, has since qualified for a UEFA B coaching certificate - he goes for the prestigious the A-grade this summer - and has led his team to the championship.

He admitted: "At the start of the season I didn't know what to expect, because being with the first-team meant I hadn't been involved with the recruitment. I was optimistic but a bit unsure.

"But after a good pre-season, the team spirit developed and you could see there was a togetherness, that we'd have a chance of doing well.

"Beating Hartlepool, who've a had a strong youth set-up in recent seasons, three times - once in the cup - shows just how well the team have performed.

"And we were very unlucky at Plymouth. We'd beaten MK Dons in the previous round but at Plymouth we hit the woodwork four times."

The youth team will finish the season in a mini-league against the top three sides from each of the other regional leagues, but Gray's aim now is to push his proteges into the reserves and then, he hopes, the first team.

Gray concedes that the title win will be irrelevant if none of the team make it as professionals.

"The aim is to get players into the first-team squad. I'm judged on what I develop, not how many cups I win," he admitted.

"The most important thing is getting players up to a certain standard. You like to think that all 15 kids have given themselves a reasonable chance, but life's not like that. If it was I'd be working for Man. United!"

He admits that a return to first-team duties is his goal - "I'm ambitious, I see myself as a manager or coach at a club in the future" - but for the time being he's happy shaping the careers or tomorrow's players.

It was probably inevitable that his trademark commitment as a player would be carried over into his coaching career, and nobody can say it hasn't paid dividends.

He said: "Even when I was playing I always got involved with pub teams and helped with boys' clubs, so coaching was always something I wanted to do, although you don't realise just how demanding the job is.

"As a player you're spoilt, you train for two-and-a-half hours a day and then you go and play golf, but most night I'll be at the club until 9pm.

"But you've got to be that dedicated and have a love for the game otherwise you wouldn't be in it.

"Me and Mick have spent hours and hours teaching the lads team shape, positioning, what to do when they haven't got the ball, and it has made us so well organised.

"The kids won't lie down and die, they never give up.

"It's probably something they've got from me!"

Read more about the Quakers here.