Former Sunderland defender has ‘something to prove’ in Gateshead friendly

The Black Cats will face a unique double-header of pre-season fixtures on Saturday as they send two different squads to take on South Shields at lunchtime (12.30pm) and National League club Gateshead just hours later (4pm).

Hunter joined Sunderland’s academy after leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2018 and made one senior appearance in a Papa Johns Trophy win at Morecambe just months later. However, his first real steps into the senior game came in the colours of South Shields after joining the then-Northern Premier League club on loan in September 2019 before making that a permanent switch at the end of the same season.

The 23-year-old helped the Mariners to promotion into the National League North last season but opted to accept an offer to step into non-league’s top tier with Gateshead last month and he will make his International Stadium bow for his new club when they host Sunderland on Saturday.

Ahead of the game, he told The Echo: “It will be an interesting test, I had my time at Sunderland and we also have South Shields later in pre-season too so I’m facing both of my old clubs before the season gets underway.

“I do think I have something to prove in both games but I am just looking forward to them more than anything. The standard has been really high in training and it wouldn’t surprise me if we went out and put on a really good performance against Sunderland as a team and as individuals.”

Reflecting on his summer move and his time at South Shields, Hunter admitted it was a tough call to leave the Mariners but insisted he ‘got a real feel’ for Gateshead after holding talks with manager Mike Williamson and assistant manager Ian Watson.

He said: “I left a lot of good people behind at Shields and I was close with them on and off the pitch. I had a great time there and I have a lot of very happy memories but I think this was the right move at the right time for me. I had other offers but coming here, speaking to the gaffer and Busted (Watson) and got a real feel for the place. I found out how they wanted to play and spoke to a few lads that had been here and that made my mind up for me.”