SECONDS before he departed The Northern Echo Arena for what could be the last time, Alan White paid the perfect compliment to manager Simon Davey by suggesting Darlington would have pulled off the Great Escape had he been in charge sooner.

In an honest assessment of the failings which have seen the Quakers fall out of the Football League, however, White was not as complimentary towards Davey’s predecessor, Steve Staunton.

The experienced centreback, whose loan spell from Luton Town has now expired, has been encouraged by the turnaround within the squad in such a short space of time following Davey’s appointment on April 1.

Cliques within the dressing room have disappeared, morale has been boosted, with performances and results taking a turn for the better during his ten games in charge.

“When I first came it was nothing like the club I left, it was a really strange place to be,” said White, who left his hometown club after two years at the end of last season when Quakers were in administration.

“When Dave Penney was here there was a great morale, all the players were friends. I turned up initially this time and it was quiet, a few little factions in the squad, there were a few who weren’t involved.

“Since the new manager has come in it has been a different place altogether. Training has been fantastic, well organised, and our fitness levels have gone up. The lads just weren’t fit.

“We didn’t train very much when I first turned up. It was literally come in, warm up, warm down and off you pop.

You do what you are told.

“If people are telling you not to do anything, ‘you’re not allowed to do any more training because we have a game so you have to put your feet up and rest’, then you do it.

“It seemed that rest was all we needed. You don’t like to have a go at anyone after they have left but for me the preparation for games and for training was poor. We didn’t do much on set pieces, we didn’t plan for games very well.

“But since the new manager, Simon, has come in, the training has been fantastic.

It’s high tempo and every session was organised. If that’s what the lads are going to get next year then they will come straight back up.”

Davey won three matches from his opening ten in charge, which is an improvement on Staunton’s four wins from his 23 games at the helm.

White, who joined on loan in January, said: “You can come up with hard luck stories, but we just weren’t good enough, fit enough.

“I honestly think that if the new manager had been here since January then we would have stayed up, without a doubt. That’s a great basis to start next season, the lads agree. I wish them the best of luck.”

A message of goodwill to the club he watched at Feethams as a child might not carry over in to a couple of matches next season, if White is retained at Luton Town.

Luton’s failure to overcome York City in the Blue Square Premier play-offs means White could face Darlington next season.

But the 34-year-old would be open to a return to The Northern Echo Arena if he is told he can leave Kenilworth Road.

“I just have to get in touch with them to see if they want me,” said White. “If they don’t want me then I will be looking for a new club.

“At the moment this is it for me at Darlington. If Simon Davey gets in touch then I will chat with him. He hasn’t started talking to anyone yet.

I’m probably the bottom of his list of priorities. That’s fair enough.”