match against Bulgaria. He was the last outfield player from outside of the English top-flight to appear for England until David Nugent in 2007 (goalkeeper David James played for England in 2003 whilst playing for West Ham in the First Division). However, he failed to make the England squad for Euro 2000. This did not affect his domestic team's form, however, as they finished in seventh place in the Premiership, a feat repeated in 2000–01. In the 2001–02 season, Sunderland struggled, and with their dip in form came a dip in form for Gray, and for the next two seasons, he was constantly rumoured to be moving elsewhere including to arch-rivals Newcastle United. Relegation came for Sunderland at the end of the 2002–03 season, and two games into the 2003–04 season Gray finally left, joining Celtic on 1 September 2003, on a four-month loan. However, having failed to make an impact, and generally finding himself out of the team, he moved to Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer on 1 January 2004. Following Sunderland's relegation from the Premier League in 2003, Gray was fined two weeks' wages and stripped of the captaincy by Mick McCarthy after Gray turned up to training in a new Ferrari. McCarthy viewed Gray's actions as insensitive due to the fact a number of club staff could potentially be made redundant following relegation. Celtic Gray had a loan spell in 2003 where he appeared 7 times in the green and white of Celtic. Blackburn Rovers Gray made his Blackburn Rovers debut against Chelsea in a 3–2 defeat, but constantly performed well for the team as they avoided relegation. In February 2005, he joined Leeds United on loan until the season's end. He then returned to Blackburn and in his first season back there he helped them qualify for the UEFA Cup, having established himself as a first-team regular. He later rejoined Leeds United for a second loan spell in a bid to save them from relegation, which ultimately failed as the club plunged into the third tier in 2007. Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolves completed the signing of Gray on an initial 12-month contract in July 2007, reuniting him with his former Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy. After spending the early part of the season in his more traditional left-back role, he was switched to left midfield in February 2008, which immediately saw him score his first goal in