Steve Watson smiles as he recounts what happened immediately after Darlington’s first friendly of this summer.

“Football’s just a crazy industry, isn’t it?” says Watson, now 50 having taken his first steps in the game as a defender with Newcastle United in the early 1990s.

“I think we must’ve spent 96 percent of last season in the bottom two, we start pre-season against Bishop Auckland and the first person I bump into upstairs afterwards asks are we going up this year!”

The fan had no doubt been buoyed by Quakers’ 5-0 win over Bishop at Heritage Park, though Darlington’s remarkable form at the end of last season is what’s really bolstered optimism.

They were effectively dead and buried in December. A shaky start to the campaign under Alun Armstrong followed by the baffling appointment of Josh Gowling and his carousel of crap signings propelled Darlington toward relegation.

They were undoubtedly heading for the Northern Premier League, until Watson and assistant Terry Mitchell took charge in January.

With the addition of some astute signings, they somehow avoided the drop with a game to spare, completing a great escape with ten crucial wins in a 14-game spell.

It was promotion form, hence feelgood factor being back - they have sold 1,000 season tickets, their most since becoming a fan-owned in 2012.

“I accept the expectations because we did finish well,” says Watson, who has previously managed Gateshead, York and Chester.

“I am really confident that we won’t repeat anything like what happened last year.

“I’m confident that we’ve got a squad that can do really well, I think it proved it over certainly the last 12 or 13 games.

“If we can get lucky with injuries and repeat that form, I wouldn’t rule anything out. I wouldn’t put figures on it. But I’m expecting nothing like last season.

“I took over Gateshead when they were 15th or 16th, survived, built and then I moved to York, survived, built a team that probably would’ve won the league but then Covid happened.

“I helped Chester out for four or five months and stabilised them. This is my chance to build again.”

The rebuilding work has been ongoing since January. All 13 of Gowling’s signings have been removed, replaced with a mixture of proven experienced players and a handful of youngsters.

Scott Barrow, Matty Cornish and Cedric Main were integral to the successful survival bid and remain with the club; Barrow joined permanently having previously been on loan.

Goalkeeper Matty Young was also on loan, but it was not realistic he would return from Sunderland - National League North is well beneath the teenager’s capabilities and he is now on loan to Salford in League Two - but Watson has recruited a fine replacement in Peter Jameson.

Now 31, he returns to Darlington after seven years away during which he has played in higher divisions for York, Harrogate Town and Hartlepool.

Also returning is Joe Leesley having had a big impact on loan in 2022. Like Jameson, he has also played at a higher level, notably with Harrogate.

“The main thing recruitment wise is we managed to keep the players that we wanted to,” adds Watson. “Every player we offered something apart from one (Jake Lawlor) accepted and stayed.

“The team that finished that season strongly, we’ve still got the bulk of it and I think we’ve added quality.

“Pete is here, we’ve signed Joe, who unfortunately is injured at the moment, plus Scotty Barrow and it was really big for us getting him over the line.”

Watson expects Jameson, Barrow and Leesley to be leaders.

He said: “One thing last season, even though there’s a lot of experience there, there weren’t many voices, it’s not a loud group. Pete is good talker, Joe Leesley is a leader in the dressing room, he raises standards in training and Scotty’s experienced as well.

“So the people we’ve brought in are not just good players, they’re leaders too.

“The teams who do well at these levels, they’re full of experience and guile so it’s important to have legs around them. Obviously we’ve got some very fit players and Cedric has been very good in pre-season.”

Without Main, Darlington would now be preparing for Northern Premier League. Pairing him up front with Mark Beck would have been a remarkable coup, while Aidan Rutledge was also on the radar. Both went to full-time clubs, Gateshead and South Shields respectively.

“Recruitment’s been difficult because the players able to make a difference all want to stay full-time,” explained Watson. “So we’ve been battling against clubs like Shields – there’s two or three players that have opted to go to Shields, or other full-time clubs.

“Whether we could’ve afforded Beck is a different matter. I would’ve had to get the begging bowl out!

"We looked at a defender, Jamie Bramwell, he went to Shields on loan. That’s the first answer you get from players who have come from full time - they want to stay full time, and in the centre-half position we’ve lost out on four or five like that.”

Watson remains in the market for a centre-half, but at centre-forward he has recruited the coveted Jack Maskell, a 20-year-old who caught attention last season by scoring 26 goals for Dunston, two divisions below Darlington.

Watson said: “He makes life really difficult for defenders. Jack could be anything. He’s raw and I’m really excited to work with him.”

Now 34 years since his Magpies bow, Watson is coaching the stars of tomorrow in Newcastle’s academy, while he remains excited about leading Darlington into the season.

“There’s no point being a manager if you’re not going to be excited at this time of year,” he says.

“I think Newcastle has helped me become a better coach. I’ve managed players but I wanted to do more coaching and learn the ins and outs of development.

“Coming back into competitive football with Darlington was big for me. I was in Newcastle’s academy and really enjoying it, it has worked out that I can do both but Darlington is my main focus and it’s good to be back in competitive football.”