MARTIN GRAY has paid tribute to the Darlington supporters that have dug deep to help the club hit its first target of raising £225,000 to fund Quakers’ return to the town at Blackwell Meadows.

The club announced at the end of last week that more than 250 fans had purchased extended season ticket packages.

Together with other equity injections and donations, the initial £225,000 target for funding was reached within just two weeks of its launch.

It means the club can now match fund a £150,000 grant pledged from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, and Gray is delighted with the news.

“The fundraising has been outstanding,” he said. “They’re the best fans in the country. Since 1999 I’ve been involved with the football club, the fans have been battered from pillar to post in that time.

“To raise nearly a quarter of a million pounds in a tough part of the country where there’s not a lot of money floating around, is amazing.

“There’s no big benefactor here, it’s the fans’ club and they deserve all the credit for where their club is today – we couldn’t do this without them. The support they give us and the feel-good factor they create is like a 12th man.

“I know they get frustrated at times, as we all do, but they’ve been nothing but outstanding.”

Quakers say that because the initial target had been reached quickly, the deadline for the initiative has been extended until Monday, April 6 to allow more time for fans to join the DFC500 or Vice-Presidents’ Clubs.

The next target is £300,000, and Martin Jesper, the club’s chief executive, said that achieving an additional £75,000 should allow an opportunity to develop the facilities at Blackwell Meadows to FA ground grading category B rather than category C.

Local businesses and fans interested in supporting the Heading Home campaign through commercial packages or equity injections can contact the club at commercial@dfc1883.co.uk

Further details are available on the club’s official site: www.darlingtonfootballclub.co.uk

Meanwhile, Darlington are in action this evening at second-bottom New Mills and aiming to complete back-to-back wins against another struggling side having defeated Prescot Cables on Saturday.

A hat-trick by Adam Mitchell and a goal by Alan White gave Quakers a 4-2 win, and Gray was pleased with the display.

He said: “Graeme Armstrong was a lot better and the two midfield players, Leon Scott and Tom Portas, were very strong and powerful. Alan White came in and gave us some experience at the back, so right through the spine of the team we looked strong.

“We were always in charge of the game, we looked comfortable, but one or two decisions by the referee allowed them to come away with more credibility than they deserved.

“The referee gave them a penalty which everybody in the ground knows should never have been a penalty, and before that their No. 10 should’ve got a second booking for a blatant dive. The referee said he slipped over.”

Gray will make at least two changes this as White and Mitchell are suspended.

His team selection on Saturday was influenced by having to play two games inside three days, and he said: “Ian Watson had a slight niggle and I didn’t dare chance it with two games in 72 hours.

“It was the same with one or two others, I looked around the changing room and thought I had to have one eye on Monday.

“It worked out well because we got through the game with no new injuries, we won and those that were doubtful got a day or two more to recover if we look to freshen up the team on Monday.”

Although facing lowly opposition, Darlington would be best advised not to take their opponents lightly bearing in mind recent results against lesser-fancied sides.

Clitheroe and Kendal, both in the bottom half of the table have defeated Darlington of late while bottom-of-the-table Padiham took the lead before Quakers came back to win 3-1.

Furthermore, New Mills have enjoyed a revival of late having won two games in a row, against Warrington and Padiham.

Having lost on the road to Kendal, Farsley and Clitheroe, Gray’s team are searching for a win that not only take them to the top of the table, but also would end a run of three successive away losses.