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• Darlington

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• Clark Keltie

Darlington captain Clark Keltie has backed caretaker boss Martin Gray's bid to become the club's new manager.

Gray, in partnership with Neil Maddison, has assumed responsibility for the first team since Dave Hodgson's sacking, leading them to a 2-0 home victory over Barnet at the weekend.

The former Sunderland midfielder has been on The Quakers' coaching staff since retiring as a player five years ago, working with the club's youth and reserve teams.

Darlington say they have held talks with former Doncaster Rovers manager Dave Penney - something which Penney disputes - but Keltie is adamant they should look closer to home.

"The players speak all the time about what's going on at the club and the lads want Martin to do the job," the 23-year-old midfielder said.

"I would love to see it happen. There's nobody at the club that wants Darlington FC to do well more than Martin Gray does.

"The majority of the lads have known Martin for a long time and are comfortable with him and enjoy training with him.

"The standards he sets are very high. The way he wants things done is very professional and he demands the highest levels of commitment from everybody on the training ground.

"When he puts his point across you definitely take notice. He can be nasty, which at times you need to get a point across, but the players have responded to him."

Meanwhile, Darlington are still waiting to hear from the Football League over the Hodgson's sacking.

The League Two club are believed to be facing a charge in relation to a potential breach of league regulations.