Ashington boss calls for players to push on in second half of season

Gray said afterwards: “First of all, I’m delighted with the three points for everyone at the club.

"In the last couple of games, we’ve let teams around us gain on us by not getting anything so today was really pleasing - but we have got to build on it.”

He continued: “We are not getting carried away because there are still things to work on – that’s for sure. It’s a good three points today but that’s all it is. There’s no point in getting three points then losing the next game.

"The size of the win today can be gauged by the fact that Ossett United were top of the form table – now we’ve got to put a run together of our own. I would have taken three points and a poor performance today - but we got the win and a good performance.”

He added: “The players have had some tough challenging times. I haven’t minced my words with them but they haven’t hidden on the pitch either. However there were some good performances out there today and the key thing was not just the lads who started – it was the whole squad.

“We are half way through the season and although the first half hasn’t been good enough – we can change it around. We’ve got the second half to improve and we’ve got a semi final tie in the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup to look forward to - so there are still plenty of opportunities here.”