Gateshead club captain issues rallying call as Rob Elliot departs to join Crawley Town

Gateshead club captain Greg Olley has insisted the National League club will ‘find a way’ to continue their impressive form - despite losing manager Rob Elliot and his coaching staff to League One club Crawley Town.

The former Newcastle United and Republic of Ireland international enjoyed a successful year-long spell in charge of the Heed after initially being appointed as interim success to his former Magpies team-mate Mike Williamson last October. Working alongside player-assistant manager Louis Storey and first-team coach Carl Magnay, Elliot led Gateshead into a National League play-off spot for only the second time in their history - although any thoughts of a historic promotion into League Two were blown apart after the International Stadium failed to meet the criteria to compete in the EFL.

A consolation prize of sorts would arrive just over a week later when Elliot became the first Gateshead manager to lead the club to a Wembley win after they lifted the FA Trophy with a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over league rivals Solihull Moors. After penning a permanent deal during the summer, Elliot and his squad enjoyed a fine start to the current campaign - and were sat in fifth place in the National League table after last weekend’s impressive 3-1 win at Southend United. However, that victory at Roots Hall will go down as the last of Elliot’s reign after he agreed to take charge at League One club Crawley earlier this week. Club legend Ben Clark is now in interim charge of the Heed and he will be assisted by club captain Olley, head of recruitment Luke Clark and experienced midfielder Jacob Butterfield after assistant manager Storey and first-team coach Antony Sweeney opted to join Elliot with his new club.

The interim quartet kicked off their reign with a 1-0 home win against Middlesbrough Under-21s in the National League Cup on Tuesday night on what was a strange night at the International Stadium. Olley, who is still recovering from the potentially season-ending injury he suffered in the win at Woking in August, was in the dugout for the win over the Boro youngsters and will continue in the role for Saturday’s home clash with Wealdstone. Describing what lies ahead as ‘a tricky period’ as the Gateshead squad come to terms with their former manager’s departure, Olley stressed the Heed players are in good hands with Clark in temporary charge and will move on from a difficult week.

“It’s a strange scenario because we’ve done so well off the back of Rob, Louis and Sweens taking over,” he told The Echo. “So it’s been almost a year of doing so well, taking on their input and they’ve improved us a lot over that time so it’s stung a lot of the lads. He’s brought a lot of these lads in as well and they’re young lads that maybe haven’t experienced a manager leaving before so there’s a lot to handle in the dressing room. Some have taken it better than others - so it’s a tricky period but we are in the best possible hands. We are Gateshead, we always find a way and we will find a way this time too.”

Working alongside Clark on the interim coaching staff has brought Olley’s Gateshead career full circle after the former Newcastle United and Hull City midfielder played under the Heed legend during his first season at the club. After stepping into a managerial role for the first time in his career during the troubled 2018/19 season, Clark came close to leading a depleted Heed squad into the National League play-offs. Although a regular presence within the International Stadium, Clark is now taking a lead role as the club looks to appoint a permanent successor to Elliot - and Olley has admitted the temporary manager has not lost any of the skills he showcased during his previous spell in charge.

He said: “Ben is still involved day-on-day with the club and he’s a name that really stands out for Gateshead and our supporters. He’s a club legend and when he did take over six years ago, we almost managed to nick a play-off place in a really competitive league. That year was full of drama - but it’s different to this. It’s nice to have Ben back in the building a bit more and having his input, he hasn’t lost it, he’s still Ben Clark and we still have a lot of respect for him.”

For Olley, who has joined Clark in becoming a Gateshead legend by leading the club to their National League North title and FA Trophy wins, a coaching role remains a new experience - but one that he is ready to throw himself into as he continues to work back from a broken leg and dislocated ankle. A career on the other side of the touchlines wasn’t on the agenda for the Heed club captain - but he admitted he has looked to get more involved in coaching over the last year.

He explained: “It’s something different, it’s something I haven’t really given much thought to until the last year or so. I want to stay getting a bit more involved in coaching and this has just landed at my feet so we will do the best we can in the situation we’ve picked up but I really just want to try and enjoy it as much as a I can to be honest. It’s a new experience for me, Clarky will help, Butts (Jacob Butterfield) will help because of his experience, and we will do all we can to keep things moving forward.”