Wembley is another Moors milestone for proud Ainsley

His association with them began 20 years ago as a fresh-faced, long-haired teenager playing in midfield. Today he will manage them in the FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium against Tunbridge Wells.

He’s come a long way since playing in the Banks Group Northern Youth League.

Snapped up by Moors when they were just about to leave the Northern League and move up the pyramid, the young Ainsley became a crowd hero and part of the club’s folklore as the club took the Northern Counties East League and Northern Premier League by storm, winning a few cups as well along the way.

Now 40-years-old, Ainsley has seen the club go through a number of changes over the years, while he played a pivotal role in attracting Brad Groves, the man who has become owner and transformed the club.

Looking back on his early days at the Brewery Field, he said: “I played a few games for Guisborough in the Banks Group Northern Youth League, and after I'd played a couple of times against Spennymoor, I got a call from the Spennymoor manager, Ray Gowan, and he persuaded me to sign a contract for them.

"I signed for £20 per week, and believe it or not, they gave me a club car - a Ford Orion - and a job with a company called Silverscreen. I used to get off early from work so then I could play in night matches here and there.

"After playing at Spennymoor for a few years, I then signed pro forms at Hartlepool, then went to Western Australia and Singapore, and played part time for a few clubs before I ended up back at Spennymoor again.”

Ainsley returned when former Middlesbrough midfielder Jamie Pollock was manager, becoming player and assistant manager.

However, they were difficult time. He added: “There always seemed to be some sort of financial problems. We got to the last 16 once of the FA Vase away to Bideford, but there was a big doubt as to whether the club could actually pay its way there.

“At the time, I was also player-manager of Sunday team Hetton Lyons, which was run by Brad, and included a few Spennymoor lads in the team. I asked Brad for some sort of assistance, and he agreed to sort the trip to Bideford out for us, and look after the Spennymoor lads playing for Hetton Lyons, which was fantastic.

“Brad wasn't much into Saturday football at that point, but a friend, Billy Beasley, set up a meeting, and Brad started to get more involved with Spennymoor.

"He's certainly made the club more professional. I can remember a story from before Brad came. We signed a player, Anthony Hume, before an away game at Coalville, and the player and I were both stood at our pick up point waiting for our transport to come. A minibus arrived, and Anthony initially thought that the minibus would just be taking our kit and players' bags - then he suddenly realised that all the other players were on board! That wouldn't happen now.

"When I went to meet players to persuade them to sign for Spennymoor, I used to meet them in pub car parks away from the ground. I didn't dare meet them at the Brewery Field, the place was dropping to bits.

"Another time, the players were promised their wages by the owner, who said he was arriving by train. So we all went to the local train station, but he never turned up, so we never got paid! We've come a long way since those days, thanks to Brad. He deserves a huge amount of credit."

There have been times when Ainsley - and some fans - feared that the club might go to the wall, but he strongly believes that the club is now in very safe hands.

“With the problems we had getting to Bideford, I really thought that the club wouldn't continue for much longer, which would have been really tough on the supporters, because it hadn't been long before that when the team had all its problems in the old UniBond League and had folded. At that point, reaching Wembley was a million miles away.

"We nearly won the league on the last day of the season once, but we had a goal disallowed in the last minute at Newcastle Benfield that stopped us. Benfield won the league, and we finished joint third, just two points behind them. I must admit, I drove home in tears that night.

“Thanks to Brad, we've turned the club around. We've had some very good teams since then. We've won the league three years in a row, but never really done well in the Vase.

“We’d never reached the semi finals until this season. We've lost some games when we just didn't get going, for example against Ashington and Gresley, and we lost another when we were two goals up midway through the second half. We were starting to think that our destiny wasn't in our own hands.

“This season we started to think differently when we won 5-1 at Bridlington Town in the first round. They were a really good team going well in their league, and one of the clubs fancied to do well. We won there with a very good performance, and we look back at that game as the one that really kick-started the Vase campaign. But we still had some difficult games, Billingham Synthonia at home, for example.

“I will be a very proud man to walk up that tunnel at Wembley, believe me, after being involved with the club for most of the last 25 years.”

Ainsley admits that the build up has been hectic and exciting.

“Until you actually get to Wembley, you don't realise the true extent of getting there.

“Our profile has been raised much higher - there are 4,000 people going down with us, who want to know more about the club, and hopefully some of them will continue to follow us.

"Lots of people and businesses in the town have been fantastic, the council has been very supportive. Our trip to Wembley has really caught the imagination, and there's some proper Vase fever in the town.”