Gray has made five starts and 20 substitute appearances for Darlington

Darlington manager Steve Staunton has praised emergency full-back Josh Gray after his performance in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Bury at Gigg Lane.

The winger, 18, was sent on to replace the injured Stuart Giddings after just 23 minutes and Staunton was impressed by his versatility.

"He was excellent. He's not a left-back as we know, but he grew into the game," Staunton told BBC Tees.

"His all-round positional sense for a left-back was impressive."

Gray's only low point came when he conceded a penalty late on in the first-half to allow the Shakers an equaliser.

Tuesday's point offers the Quakers a glimmer of hope in their quest to avoid the drop into the Blue Square Premier, although Staunton's side remain 16 points short of the total needed to move out of the relegation places.

However the former Republic of Ireland boss remains proud of his players' efforts during a tough time for the club.

"We know we've been knocking on the door with our performances at home, we've played some good football and we've had plenty of shots and crosses in games and we've not taken our chances and conceded poor goals," he said.

"But tonight we've created a bit, but most importantly we've stood firm from one to 11 and we've only conceded from a penalty."

Darlington are bottom of the Football League, 11 points behind Grimsby and 15 behind Cheltenham, but have a goal difference of minus 44.

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