Old favourite Sean Gregan returned to the club as player-coach during the summer after a 21 year playing career that started at Feethams, and took him to Preston, West Bromwich Albion, Leeds, Oldham and Fleetwood.

Here, in the first of two parts, The Quaker talks to him about his career so far, his early days at Feethams and his hopes for the current team.

Can you remember much about your early days at Darlo?

I didn’t earn very much at all in those days. I think I earned £150 per week, and remember, this was before Bosman when players were given the freedom to move. So the club might have offered me £155 for my next contract, take it or stay on £150. The power was with the club.

I can remember my debut, it was in the FA Cup against Hartlepool at home – what a game that was to make my debut, but I finished on the winning side. Another of my early games was in the old Third Division against Huddersfield , who had two very good, strong strikers in Iffy Onoura and Iwan Roberts. It was quite a baptism for me as a 17 year old, with tackles flying around all the time. You just couldn’t get away with some of those tackles now, there would be loads of red cards. I gave as good as I got.

I played a few games as a sweeper, mainly because Frank Gray, the manager at the time, saw me as a player who could pass the ball well from the back and start the attack moving. But then for the rest of my time at Darlo, I was used mainly as a defender.

There were plenty of good times, and some bad times. We had a great time in 1995-96, people like Andy Crosby, Steve Gaughan, Gary Bannister, Robbie Blake were all in the team, and we reached the play off final at Wembley.

If Hodgy had stayed, then maybe we could have advanced further than just the play offs. Banno was a fantastic player, he could think further ahead than some of the others around him, he would be thinking three, four passes ahead.  It was a great feeling obviously to get to Wembley in 1996, especially coming from a little club like Darlo.

Hodgy was full of ideas from his time playing in Europe. For example, he played three centre halves, an idea which hadn’t really been tried out in this country – me, Matty Appleby and Andy Crosby.

Many people will remember your header at Hereford in the first leg of the play off semi final.

I never scored many goals when I was at Darlington, and I can remember the header at Hereford very clearly, a looping header from a left wing cross. We went behind early in that game, and showed our character by battling back well to win 2-1.

The return at Feethams was a night to remember, the early goal set us on our way. The place was rocking that night near the end when it became more and more certain that we were going to Wembley.

How did you feel about going to Preston?

I went there just after Darlo played Leeds in the League Cup. I thought it was time to move on, and see if I could play at a higher level. Preston was a sleeping giant in the league above, and we won the League Two championship, and then lost in the League One play offs for a place in the Premiership. David Moyes was at Preston at the time first as assistant manager and then manager, and look what he’s gone on and achieved since then. He left in March 2002, and Craig Brown, who used to be Scotland manager, took over.

Maybe if Moyesy hadn’t left, then we would have gone on to win promotion to the Premiership. Jon Macken, one of our forwards, went to Manchester City for £5 million, if we’d kept everyone together, then maybe we could have done it.

I didn’t get on well with Craig Brown, and so I decided to move on to West Brom during the summer after Gary Megson, the West Brom manager at the time, said that their season started with a game against Manchester United. That turned my head. At 28, I couldn’t see myself playing for Preston in the Premiership in the foreseeable future.

Rodney Marsh said your signing for West Brom was like putting “lipstick on a pig”!

I’d like to think that I proved him wrong. West Brom was a good club, and even though we were relegated from the Premiership in my first season, we were promoted straight back, and I was captain. I even scored a couple of goals! I made my West Brom debut at Old Trafford, which was a great experience.

After two years at West Brom, who were in the Premiership, why did you decide to go to Leeds, who were in the Championship?

I decided that I wanted to be further north to be with my family, and so I joined Leeds United, who had just been relegated from the Premiership. I could have gone to Reading or Nottingham Forest, but they were too far away.

The problem was, some of the Leeds fans still had high expectations, and it was difficult for all the players at times. I was put in midfield, where I hadn’t played regularly for ages, and I wasn’t fit enough to play there.

I remember we were chasing a play off place, and near the end of the season, we drew 0-0 with Plymouth at Elland Road. The crowd started singing “You’re not fit to wear the shirt,” which didn’t go down too well at all with the players after all our efforts. We were trying our hardest after all. I suppose the fans were feeling frustrated, because it had only been a few years previous that the likes of Rio Ferdinand was playing for them, and they’d been in the Champions League semi final.

The chance came to go to Oldham Athletic on loan. I played nine or ten games for them, and decided to stay there. I could have gone to Hull, who went on to win promotion, or Barnsley, but I wanted to play in the north west to be near my family.

Are you trying to get back into the pro game?

Once you’re out of the pro game, it’s very difficult to get back into it. I missed out at Oldham when Dave Penney was there. I was player of the year there, but then Dave was sacked, and there was always a chance that whoever came in, would move me out because I would be perceived as a threat. Paul Dickov was appointed manager, and he had me training with the kids and reserves, and eventually I left for Fleetwood.

I’d love to get back into it, but the circumstances have to be right. I don’t want to take on a permanent job miles away from home.

Wasn’t Mark Cooper interested in bringing you to Darlo at that point?

There were a few clubs interested, but my main concern was to be close to my kids in the north west. Walsall came in for me, but that was going to be a long trip up and down the M6 for me. Mark Cooper spoke to me and offered me the best deal financially, but again it meant a long trip on the M62 every day. So I went to Fleetwood in the end for less money because they were closest to my home, as simple as that.

What do you do with yourself nowadays?

As well as being player-coach here – mainly coaching! – I have my own football academy, and I do bits and pieces of coaching here and there, so with everything taken into consideration, I’m occupied full time.

Fitness-wise, I snapped my Achilles 18 months ago, and haven’t had much rehab. If something happened to our central defenders, then I might get lobbed in.

How do you see Darlo’s season progressing?

Obviously, I’m completely new to this league, but I’ve been impressed by the team so far. Talking to Brian Atkinson, he says that the bigger tests are to come, against the likes of Bedlington, Spennymoor, Shildon.

We’ve passed the ball around well, and after watching Steve Thompson play, he could easily play at Conference level. He has that little bit of magic in his locker that can turn a game when you need it.

The bench is also strong, there are two very good forwards ready and waiting to come on the field, other teams don’t seem to have a lot on the bench.

One of the things I’ve noticed is that the game is more physical at this level, and the refs let some tackles go, that would be punished further up the ladder. I’m all for them. I’ve noticed as well that when a player is fouled, he doesn’t roll around in mock agony, he just gets on with the game.

I think we need to tighten up at the back. We’re getting away with conceding goals at the moment, but when we come up against the better teams in this league, then they might be more costly.

At the Benfield home game when Gary Brown put through his own goal, did you remember your own goal against Mike Pollitt way back in the early nineties?

Not really until you reminded me! Mike and I just looked at each other in disbelief, because the ball bobbled just as he was about to clear my backpass, and I think I got the blame because I’d put it back to him between our posts!

That was in the early days of the backpass being banned. When I first started playing, you could chip the ball into your own keeper’s hands from the halfway line and nothing was done or said about it.

It’s easy to say now, but if Jack had picked the ball up, he might not have been penalised, because it was more of a sliced clearance from Gary than a backpass, but it’s difficult to know what to do for the best in those situations.

Who was the best manager you ever played under?

I’ve learned from a few.  When I was at Preston, I had a battle with David Moyes. We were like Alpha males, he was the assistant manager and then manager, and I was the confident skipper. We had our views and we had our ups and downs, but he made me a better person and a better trainer.

Gary Megson was like a sergeant major at West Brom, but he was as good as gold with me.

Hodgy was a bit before his time with some of his ideas, but his man-management was superb, and he made all the players feel ten foot tall.

Who was the worst manager you ever played under?

Billy McEwan. I was in the team at 17, 18, but when he arrived, he brought in players like Tim Parkin and Lawrie Madden who were coming to the end of their careers, but I couldn’t understand why a hungry kid like me was kept out of the team. If Billy had stayed longer than he did at Darlo, then I don’t think I would have stayed , and I might not have achieved as much as I have done in the game.

Who was your most difficult opponent?

Those that I couldn’t have a physical battle with! I used to love playing against somebody like Steve Howard, but I used to hate playing against players like Robbie Keane, who would play in the hole in front of the back four, and you couldn’t get close to them. A bit like Steve Thompson is doing now for Darlo.

Which team mate did you most admire?

Jason Koumas at West Brom. His all round game was fantastic, and he could do all sorts, but his attitude off the pitch wasn’t the best. If his attitude had been better off the pitch, then he could have achieved a huge amount, but unfortunately it wasn’t, and his career went downhill.

What’s the best ground you’ve played on?

It has to be Wembley, but there are others that I’ve been fortunate enough to play on. Premiership grounds like Old Trafford, and I played twice in play off finals at the Millennium Stadium.

What’s the worst ground you’ve played on?

There were a couple in the Conference in my last season – Bath and Forest Green Rovers. But they weren’t such a culture shock to me, because remember I’d started my playing career at Feethams, so I knew what to expect at some places in the Conference, whereas some ex pros who hadn’t started at somewhere like Darlington couldn’t mentally hack it at places lower down the ladder.

What’s your most memorable match?

Probably the play off semi final for Preston against Birmingham in 2001. They scored in injury time and thought that they were through, but we went up the other end and equalised to force a penalty shoot out. That was when I took my one and only penalty, and scored it, so I’ve got a 100 per cent record.!