Former Glasshoughton Welfare director of football Ray Gowan has released a book that looks back at his 45 years in non-league football as a player and a manager.

Called "Football - Ray's Way", it covers his time as a player for Gateshead before his move into management when he emigrated to South Africa in 1971.

He returned to the United Kingdom five years later and was the boss at a number of clubs including Shildon where he spent fourteen years in the dugout, guiding the side to an FA Cup First Round appearance in 2003.

Gowan became involved at Glasshoughton in 2007, setting about restructuring the club behind the scenes and making a lot of changes that helped Welfare secure its long-term future amidst a time of great uncertainty on-the-pitch.

He left to take over as manager at West Auckland Town in 2008 before moving back to South Africa a few months later where he lives today.

For more details about how to purchase this fascinating book, you can contact Ray directly by email at raygowan@hotmail.com.