As a Newcastle United goalkeeper, Rob Elliot was no stranger to the substitutes’ bench. “I spent more time on the sidelines than I wanted,” says Gateshead’s manager. “But it meant I watched a lot of football, I learned the way team structure and tactical shape worked at the highest level.”
On Saturday afternoon Elliot will choreograph his team from a new vantage point: the touchline at Wembley, where they face Solihull Moors in the FA Trophy final.
Despite finishing sixth in the National League, Gateshead were denied a playoff place by the EFL owing to their cash-strapped local council’s failure to guarantee them a formal 10-year lease at the International Stadium. It means the side that lost last year’s FA Trophy final to Halifax have a point to prove. “The lads deserve the chance to show what they can do at Wembley,” says Elliot. “We’re extremely disappointed. You can’t pretend not to be.”
The heartbreak of watching the playoffs was assuaged only slightly by the sight of his friend Andy Woodman, a former Newcastle goalkeeping coach, leading Bromley into League Two by beating Solihull on penalties in the final.
“I speak to Andy a lot,” says Elliot, who switched from his role as Gateshead’s technical director when Mike Williamson departed to manage MK Dons last October. “I ring him for bits of advice. Andy’s a good person to lean on.
“You can’t pretend to be someone else but there’s a few managers I’ve taken bits from. At Charlton, Chris Powell was one of the best human beings I’ve worked with, the way he connected the group. Because you cared for him so much you wanted to improve. At Newcastle Alan Pardew gave you so much confidence and Rafa [Benítez], in terms of his structure and shape, well, there’s no need to explain how good that was.”
Although the 38-year-old’s Gateshead title remains interim manager the prefix is expected to disappear this summer when there is optimism a compromise can be reached regarding the lease, with the stadium’s sale to a third party a feasible option.
“I think that will be sorted,” says Elliot, as outside an adjacent window teenage girls prepare for athletics practice on the suddenly sun-dappled running track surrounding Gateshead’s pitch. “I have faith everyone involved will do the right things and things will be put right. That’s what the players, our brilliant fans and the local community deserve.”
More immediately, a cup triumph would offer club and town a chance to emerge from the shadows cast by their wealthier neighbours across the Tyne in Newcastle.
“The final’s between two very good teams who play good football,” says the London-born Elliot. “And, after everything that’s gone on, it’s about Gateshead FC showcasing who we are.
“Watching the playoffs was quite tough for the lads but this is the chance for them to get the recognition they deserve. There’s definitely a sense of injustice. I want them to enjoy Saturday.”
Enjoyment is a recurring theme of Gateshead life. “We all just like spending time together,” says Elliot. “I genuinely love coming to work. It’s a privilege for me to manage these lads.
“I’ve been in a lot of dressing rooms but this one’s unique; people are genuinely who they want to be. There’s no falseness or pretence; no trying to pretend you’re something you’re not. People are comfortable expressing who they are.
“Regardless of whether I stay in management this job’s going to be one of the things I’m most proud of. But as a manager you’re only as good as your players. Regardless of how well you set the team up you can’t put the ball in the back of the net.”
Elliot played 68 times for Newcastle, made 109 appearances in Charlton colours and won four Republic of Ireland caps during an era of immense change. “When I was young the game was all about mental strength but now there’s more understanding of the permutations affecting a player’s mentality,” he says. “I think if you show your emotions and show you care, players respond really well.
“I don’t really have the ambition to be the best manager in the world inside me but I love it here. And if I can help a group of young men be the best they can be on and off the pitch, that really excites me.”
Much as Elliot, his wife and their three children feel like adopted Geordies, Marcus Dinanga is relishing being an honorary Tynesider. Gateshead’s Kent-born striker has scored 33 goals in 67 games since joining “the Heed” last year. “I liked it better up here, the people are nicer, they always say ‘good morning’ when you’re walking the dog,” says Dinanga. “And the beaches are lovely.”
At 26, Gateshead are his 12th club. “I’ve played for loads of teams but this is the best bunch of guys,” he says. “There’s no bad eggs, no egos. If you feel like speaking you can get your point across and no one’s got a problem. No one argues on the pitch. That comes from the manager.
“I’ve had coaches you can’t really have a conversation with but I don’t think that’s the way to do it. Rob just knows how to manage players, what they need. He understands me. He’s made me feel Gateshead’s my home.”
