Former Sunderland manager backs Gateshead boss Carl Magnay amid National League play-off push

Former Sunderland manager Simon Grayson has thrown his backing behind Gateshead boss Carl Magnay as he looks to guide his side into the National League play-offs.

After suffering an ongoing injury crisis that has robbed him of the likes of Greg Olley, Kenton Richardson and Jacob Butterfield for large parts of the campaign, Magnay was boosted by back-to-back wins against Dagenham and Redbridge and Forest Green Rovers over the last ten days that have taken the Heed into fifth place in the table ahead of a tricky Easter weekend.

Title contenders York City will be the visitors to the International Stadium of Good Friday (12.30 kick-off) before Gateshead turn their focus towards a Bank Holiday Monday trip to Hartlepool United. Grayson has been in regular contact with Magnay in recent months and believes there aren’t many managers in world football that could have coped with the injury situation Magnay has experienced this season.

He told The Echo: “It’s been difficult for Carl and I’ve spoken to him quite a bit of the last couple of weeks. We still keep in touch, I had a spell when I went in to be around him for a few weeks a few months ago but he rings me for advice. I was made up for him when he got back-to-back wins because I know he’s been getting a little bit of stick and I’m delighted he’s done what he’s done.

“I think they can really kick on and it’s been difficult. When you lose the level of players he has for such a long time, like Greg (Olley), Kenton (Richardson), Joe and others, and I think something like 50 players have been used this year, 20-odd different back threes, no coach in the world is ever going to get the consistency you want to get the results you want to get.

‘If you’re going to have a blip, have it mid-season or just after but really pick it up again when it really matters in the latter stages and the back-to-back wins are showing what they are capable of doing.”

Injury frustration for Grayson

Grayson has become a regular watcher of Gateshead game’s over the last two seasons after his son Joe joined the Heed during the summer of 2023. The defender helped the Heed to their FA Trophy final win against Solihull Moors last May but his current campaign has been decimated by injury. However, the former Barrow centre-back returned to the starting lineup at Forest Green last weekend and Grayson senior has praised the ‘application and professionalism’ he has shown throughout his recovery process.

He said: “It’s been a really frustrating season for him because he was flying in pre-season, they were winning five-nil in the first game of the season and he blocked a cross and was out for three months. He was back for seven or eight games and then did his hamstring in the last minute and it’s another three months. He seems to pick up injuries that are not short-term but what I’ve been proud of as a Dad and as a football person is his application and professionalism to get himself back so I was really pleased to see him get 75 minutes at the weekend.”

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