The season is over but Darlington remain a work in progress

THE season is over, but Tommy Wright’s work has only just begun.

The Darlington manager says this will be his busiest time of the year, fielding phone calls, meeting potential new players and informing members of his current squad whether they remain wanted.

Some are surplus to requirements and already know their fate – Quakers plan to make an announcement soon – but for others, a new era awaits.

Saturday saw Darlington end the season with a 1-1 draw at Stockport County, a result of little consequence, and now Wright is looking ahead to his first full campaign at the helm, having laid the foundations since becoming boss in October.

He has made some good signings, Josh Heaton, Ben O’Hanlon and Reece Styche all improving the team during a transitional period, though the squad remains a work in progress.

“It’s the busiest time of my year now,” said Wright. “There are still bits to be done in terms of the current squad which will be ironed out soon so that everyone will know where they stand.

“There’ll be players coming and I have meetings with three players next week that have been lined up for two months.

“My plans haven’t deviated since January, I know what I want to do in the summer and I intend it to happen.

“What we’ve managed to do is put our stamp on it, bring in some of the players I wanted, but we are nowhere near the finished article.”

Wright has also demonstrated a desire to give youth a chance, including on Saturday, when three youngsters were selected.

Jack Vaulks, Mitchell Glover and Harvey Saunders were in the starting XI, while Darlington-born teenagers Bradley Moncur and Jamie O’Brien came off the bench for the final seconds, though referee Ben Speedie did not play ball.

He played no added time and blew for full-time seconds after they were sent on before they had touched the ball.

Luke Trotman, Terry Galbraith, Joe Wheatley and Josh Gillies were unavailable due to injury, but with nothing at stake Wright felt comfortable in making five changes.

“It was a positive way to end the season, but we would’ve preferred three points,” said Wright.

“We spoke about personal pride in the team-talk – there was nothing riding on the game, but in your own performance give the fans something back.

“And I think they did that today. They showed a lot of heart, a lot of character to come here with nothing to play for and put on a decent performance.”

Glover, who turns 17 today, played as a deep-lying midfielder, and Wright added: “Mitchell played the 90 minutes and we’ve managed to get two Darlo lads on. The ref killed them by not playing any injury time!

“But they still got on and they will remember that their debut was at Stockport in front of 6,000 and not many teenagers at this level will achieve that.”

Stephen Thompson gave Darlington the lead against the run of play on 32 minutes with the team’s only shot on target.

Stockport, who had made seven changes in preparation for their play-off match on Wednesday with Chorley, had more of the ball and chances, but Dave Syers outmuscled an opponent in the opposition half, gave the ball to Styche and he picked out Thompson to convert from inside the area.

The lead lasted until just after the hour mark, when full-back Dan Cowan cut inside Saunders and powered home from 20 yards, the draw being a fair result.

Darlington finished 12th, exactly where they were when Wright took the job, though that does not tell half the story.

Wins were hard to come by initially. The performance in a defeat at Gainsborough was “disgusting”, admits Wright, and Quakers dropped to 20th in January.

But fortunes improved after a Thompson hat-trick inspired a 3-2 win at Leamington, recovering from 2-1 down, providing the platform on which a run of good results saved the season.

“It should never have got as far as the Leamington game,” admitted Wright.

“Before then we should’ve beaten Alfreton and should’ve got a point against Salford. There were so many opportunities that we threw away – we led a lot of games and let ourselves down.

“It has been a work in progress, everyone can see that and I think people will get behind us next year.

“It’s not an achievement to finish anywhere from 11th down to 19th.

“We know that this squad, when it was assembled last summer, was supposed to be a play-off squad.

“What happened since then wasn’t good enough, we know that. We’ve gone through a big transition, but if you look at the table, despite a frustrating season, we’ve gone quite close to the play-offs. That shows you what this league is all about – anybody can beat anybody.

“What has just happened has been forgotten as far as I’m concerned, even the result today is forgotten by 5pm.

“It’s all about what we do over the summer.”