I went from non-league to FA Cup Final with Sunderland and won promotion at Oxford… now I’m helping kids with autism

MARTIN GRAY went from naughty schoolboy to a promotion winner at both Sunderland and Oxford – now he is helping other youngsters in need.

The 53-year-old was a self-confessed bad boy as a kid and he never dreamed that he would make it as a footballer when he was released by Middlesbrough aged 15.

Three years later he was handed a lifeline by Denis Smith and Malcolm Crosby at Sunderland, and that led to him working under the pair for the best part of ten years.

“I remember leaving the Northern League, where I was playing for Ferryhill, and Denis Smith signed me for Sunderland,” Gray told Sun Sport. “Seven years later he and Malcolm Crosby signed me for Oxford United. I probably had ten years playing under them.

“Malcolm was an inspiration and like a father figure to me if I’m honest. I was a late developer and wasn’t at the level of the other players when I first went to Sunderland but I don’t think they signed me based just on my skills.

“I think they got me for my work ethic, hunger and toughness etc. I found it really difficult at first as I knew I didn’t have the qualities of the lads that were there but Dennis and Malcolm, mainly, what they did to try and help me as a person and player was amazing.

“Malcolm was the best person that I worked with in football and had the biggest impact. He’s a great person.”

Smith was sacked by Sunderland in December 1991 with assistant Crosby taking over, and Gray would go on to make his debut and was even part of the travelling squad that went to Wembley in the 1992 FA Cup Final where they lost 2-0 to Liverpool.

He said: “That was special. I played against Blackburn the week before as he had rested Paul Bracewell and a few others. I was involved in the last couple of matches leading up to the final and managed to get in the travelling squad.

“I never, and didn’t deserve to, make the bench but that whole occasion of wearing the suits and being part of it was unbelievable.”

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Gray was part of Peter Reid’s squad that won promotion to the Premier League – and that was a campaign he enjoyed double joy after departing the North East for a reunion with his mentors at Oxford.

He said: “I signed on deadline day and we were celebrating promotion a few weeks later. That was amazing.

“I played the last ten or 12 games of that season and it was good to contribute to help get over the line and reach the Championship.

“I was eventually made club captain down there and I had an amazing time there. I had four special years at Oxford.

“We were the small club in the big league going up against the likes of Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Man City, Sunderland, many thought that we would just be the whipping boys.

“We had Joey Beauchamp and some other really good players that went on to become Premier League regulars like Matty Elliott, Phil Gilchrist, Darren Purse and Dean Windass, who I still speak with almost every day.

“Dennis created a great working ethic within the club and we were a very close team with no superstars and if anybody got above themselves then they were soon brought back into line.”

Oxford, whose draws with West Brom and Derby over the past week have left them 11th, are now back in the Championship and travel to the Stadium of Light to face table-topping Sunderland tomorrow.

Gray, who moved to Darlington in 1999 before hanging up his boots, said: “It’s great to see them back after coming close a few times.

“They are still a small fish in a big pond but they are holding their own. It goes to show that by putting trust in young managers and allowing people to develop can really pay off.

“They are in the top half and got a good result last weekend against a tough opponent. “They’ve done great and then you look at Sunderland and wonder where all this has come from.

“I didn’t know much about Regis Le Bris but I heard after pre-season some really good feedback about what he was doing. And what he is doing is working and they’ve got off to a start that most of us never expected.

“I’ve been to the Derby and Leeds matches recently and from where they were two or three years ago to now is something I didn’t foresee to be honest.”

Gray is set to attend the clash between his two former teams, but unlike his tigerish displays on the pitch, he is holding back when it comes to making a prediction.

“I’m sitting on the fence and going for a draw aren’t I,” he says with a huge grin when pressed for a prediction.

“Both clubs have had a great start to the season and I want them to each do well. So I’ll be supporting both teams massively as they both played a massive part in my career.”

Away from the pro game and his coaching career, including leading Darlington to numerous promotions, Gray has also made a huge impact in the North East with his work in education – especially in providing alternative provision for children and young people.

In 2018 Future Pathways began in Darlington, a provision which set out to offer support and education to young people. The young people accessing the service have a range of complex needs, and felt mainstream schooling was unable to meet them, but are now thriving in the small bespoke environment.

Gray added: “Whether you are dealing with a young child that has difficulties due to trauma that they have unfortunately come across to a footballer that is not getting a new contract or being released, then you have to deal with people in a caring way.

“It’s amazing. It used to be kids just getting kicked out of school and being labelled as naughty, and I’ll be honest, that was me.

“But there was no alternative education around then, you were just labelled and got excluded.

“Our provision is based around a sporting theme from boxing, biking, football… They do their education around the sport and the education is built around that and developing life skills, it feels so rewarding and it’s just great to help the kids we have.”

Still keen to stick to his sporting roots, Gray still runs a sporting academy in partnership with a local college, where he hopes to inspire the next generation of players and offer high quality coaching. 

Staff from Gray’s Future Pathways Alternative Provision company are about to embark on a sponsored 30-mile walk from Sunderland Royal Hospital to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The money earned from this fundraiser will go towards delivering Christmas Presents to children in both of these hospitals in December.

If you would like to sponsor them please visit: Fundraiser for Anthony Verity by Tyler Hutchinson : Future Pathways Staff Walk from Sunderland to Darlington