A TEENAGER is to live out the fantasy of thousands of schoolboys - when he gets to help manage a professional football team for the day.

David Bogg impressed Darlington FC manager David Hodgson so much when he was named The Northern Echo's Local Hero 2004 on Thursday that the manager made him an offer he could not refuse.

Fourteen-year-old David, who lives in Darlington, has already proved he can get the right results as the manager of his school football team.

So Hodgson decided he needed a greater challenge - and offered him the chance to help manage the Quakers for the day.

David will join the team for one of their home games before Christmas.

Yesterday, he said: "I am speechless and that is a rarity for me. I will more than enjoy it. I feel like a celebrity - I never expected this."

Hodgson said: "David has this dream to manage a football club. I will invite him to join us when we arrive at the stadium. He will meet the players, sit in on our entire discussions before the game.

"Then he will join me and Mark Proctor in the dugout for the first half, go in with us at half-time and back out for the second half.

"Then he will join us back in the changing rooms - and hopefully we will have had a good result and he will not hear any bad language."

David helped his teacher Dave Tucker lead Branksome School to a cup final win in the summer.

After the victory, he was promoted to manager of the team - leaving Mr Tucker as his No2.

David decided to go into management after being told he could never take part in PE lessons because he required surgery on his foot.

Yesterday, Mr Tucker said: "I can't tell you how proud I am of David - it is not just me, it is the whole school.

"I think he would do a superb job for Darlington - he would be excellent and he would have all the players in stitches.

"For a 14-year-old, he has motivational skills I have never seen before."

David said: "I do have some tips, but I can't tell you, I think I will keep them between me and Hodgson."

And Hodgson promised he would listen to everything David had to say.

Hero Phil to train with an Olympian

ONE of The Northern Echo's Local Heroes is to be given the opportunity to train with a national coach.

Phil Collins, who won the under-16 award for outstanding performance, will train with Terry Lomax, the national high jump coach.

Phil will also get the chance to train with Olympic decathlete Dean Macey as part of the prize arranged by awards sponsors Orange.

Phil specialises in the high jump and last year cleared 1.92m - the best jump in the UK at under-15 level this year.

If it had been at an official event, it would have been the tenth best jump in history.

Yesterday, a delighted Phil, 15, from Darlington, said: "It's class."

The Carmel Technology College student said he was looking forward to the training session, which will take place at Gateshead Stadium on November 28.

Boys say thank-you to team secretary

A TEAM which has only lost one competitive match in three years rewarded their secretary by clubbing together to buy him a very special present.

At Thursday night's Local Heroes evening, 14 boys who play for the Bishop Auckland Schools under-16 team bid for a signed Sunderland AFC football shirt and ball.

They paid £100 for the shirt as a present for Garry Purcell, 48, from Durham, who has been their club's secretary for the past three years.

During this period the team were runners-up in the English Schools Cup for under 14s.

Mr Purcell said yesterday: "After Local Heroes, I went out into the foyer and saw the whole team, and the captain said we have a present for you.

"They said, 'Thank-you for helping us over the past three years' - and that made me a little bit tearful.

"I was gobsmacked, and when I told my wife she was gobsmacked as well.

"They are a great bunch of lads and it has been excellent. But this hasn't really sunk in yet."