A word of thanks does not go far enough for everybody who made Sunday's charity match such a huge success.

We didn't just get fans from Darlington, they were there from Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle and Hartlepool, which is marvellous to see.

The day exceeded all of my expectations. I thought if we got six or seven thousand fans that would have been an achievement for the club, but to get over 14,000 was absolutely phenomenal.

I was never really worried about the players turning up because they all said to me that they'd come.

Even though everybody came through this door - and the club is extremely grateful of that - unfortunately it doesn't end there. There is still a lot of work to be done to keep the club going.

People need to keep on coming and hopefully the club will end up in a position the public want it to be in - in safe hands and retaining its position in the League.

It would not be fair for me to thank just one individual because everybody has worked around the clock.

It was great to see some of our old players and it just shows that this club over the years has had people who genuinely love to play for the club.

I must admit I didn't get so see much of the play because I was so busy running around making sure everything was in place!

However, I did get to see Lee Hall's tackle on Robbie Blake, which sent shivers down my spine. Needless to say, me and the lads were able to get our own back on some of the marks he's dished out to our players this season by agreeing that his performance was worth four out of ten!

It was great to see Gazza turn out and the fans seemed to have a great time just watching him.

He was no different in the changing room before the game either. Just as I was talking to the players Gazza strolled in with a can of Red Bull and a cigarette, where he proceeded to take over the team meeting.

I've thrown balls at chairmen in the past for walking in at that time, but I had to walk out of the changing room and let him do the team talk. We made a great start to the game so maybe I should invite him down tomorrow!

Chris Waddle's goal was wonderful and Peter Beardsley had his usual box of tricks, but it was Gazza who stole the show. He was adamant the game was not going to end until he scored and he was even swearing at the referee, telling him not to blow the whistle until he scored. In the end everybody was just giving the ball to Gazza!

The response we got from players was tremendous, I couldn't have asked for more.

Once I'd asked Kenny Dalglish, who drove from his home in Cheshire for the game, I was able to get the likes of Alan Kennedy. And from there it just went from strength to strength.

After the game I thought the atmosphere was very similar to what was happening in my last spell in 2000. People didn't want to leave the ground because they were having a great time.

Unfortunately it was a different story before the game. We must address the problem of entry into the ground. We've already begun discussions on how we can make it easier for fans and I'm sure we can.

I also owe an apology because we didn't cope with the demands of what was required for a double figure crowd.

Weather permitting, we have Rochdale at home tomorrow. As sad as it may seem, as soon as Sunday's game was over I'd already pushed it aside.

We're a football club fighting for survival and all this help and aid will go nowhere unless we turn things around on the pitch. This game is just as big as last week's because we need another big crowd of at least 6,000.

If we go out and win tomorrow, not only will we maintain that crowd but we can add to it as well. Now is the time to roll up.

Read more about the Quakers here.