Darlington striker Nathan Cartman says that playing in front of crowds of nearly 2,000 is a "crazy experience" for him.

Nathan signed for Quakers from Harrogate RA and he admits that the passion of Darlington supporters has taken him by surprise.

“It’s been a crazy experience for me. When I was at Harrogate RA, sometimes we played in front of crowds of around 50, but in that match at Whitby there were nearly 2,000. It was great to see so many young kids supporting the lads, because after all, they’re the next generation.

“When I signed for the club in the middle of the 2014-15 season I had a pretty good idea what I was coming into in terms of support, but the turnout at Whitby was unbelievable.

“After we won the play offs last summer I knew that we would be up there, but I didn’t think that we would go up automatically.

“It was an incredible night. As soon as we scored the first goal, I knew that we would smash Whitby. The goals came along at the right time and knocked the stuffing out of them. It was an incredible night – it’s a shame that it wasn’t a Saturday, because we’d have all gone out afterwards.

“It was a fantastic end to the season,when you consider that we were trailing at the end of November and we won all those games to lift the title, says a lot for the lads and the management team.

“Winning the league was a tribute to all the hard work that we all put in, not just on the field but off it as well."

Read the rest of Nathan's interview and those of several other players and manager Martin Gray in our 68 page promotion special, which is due out on Saturday at midday in the Dolphin Centre, along with the Trophy on tour.