Source: Northern_Echo
Davey makes first signing
DARLINGTON midfielder Gary Smith has signed a new deal at the Northern Echo Arena, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2010-11 season.[LNB] The 26-year-old centre , who has played 27 games for the Quakers this season after signing for the club last summer, is the first of a number of players manager Simon Davey is hoping to retain for next season.[LNB] Chairman Raj Singh today said: We're delighted to sign Gary up for next season. He's one of a number of players the new manager has already identified to retain.[LNB] Simon is looking for positive characters and Gary will hopefully be the first of many to sign-up to our long-term plan to assemble the strongest possible squad for next season. It's vital we hit the ground running at the beginning of 2010-11 so getting players signed up early is very important.[LNB] It will be a great opportunity for him and the club to have a full pre-season under our belts before the start of the new season. Last summer was so uncertain, everything was resolved virtually at the last-minute which meant the manager was trying to prepare for the season with his hands tied. Life was made extremely difficult by the administrators which simply did not help us and has ultimately been the biggest factor in our current position."[LNB] Although we can't get away from the fact that relegation to the Conference will be a huge blow to the club, we will at least be able to have a much more stable summer, and the manager will be able to prepare with a full squad, knowing the kind of resources that are available to him.[LNB] Boss Simon Davey added: All-but mathematically we're going to head to the Conference but it's up to us to assess what we've got and that's what we're doing, to see if they're the right kind of players to help us bounce straight back and to make sure those who want to stay, the ones I want to stay, and the players we bring in for next season, have a winning mentality.[LNB] We'll slowly but surely build blocks but the whole wall won't be completed until the first game of next season in August.[LNB]
