Gateshead manager Mike Williamson won’t change approach after impressive win against Oldham Athletic

Gateshead player-manager Mike Williamson has urged his side to focus on themselves as they look to mount a successful battle against relegation from the National League.

The former Newcastle United defender adopted a similar approach during the second half of last season when his side romped to the National League North title and has insisted he sees no reason for a chance as his players look to avoid a return to non-league’s second tier.

The Heed have shown significant signs of improvement in recent weeks with just two defeats in their last 12 games in all competitions and they gave a boost to their survival bid with a 2-1 home win against Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night.

Results elsewhere meant Williamson’s side remained in the relegation zone - but the Heed boss is refusing to pay attention to events around them in the table.

He told The Echo: “We know that we have home games, we are playing teams in and around us and if we do our job, it’s irrelevant. That’s our focus.

“I am loving it. Obviously last season was a fantastic season and we’ve had a show a lot of other areas of our character and our identity. But stepping up to this, it’s a huge step in standard. You see the budgets, they are incredible. We’ve had a lot of obstacles and hurdles to overcome within ourselves. For us, we are relishing every game, especially with that group, it’s a pleasure.”

The win over Oldham provided Gateshead with several reasons to take a positive outlook into Saturday’s trip to bottom of the table Maidstone United. Debutant Callum Whelan put in a man of the match display after the former Manchester United academy midfielder named in the starting eleven less than 24 hours after completing a move to the International Stadium.

And another Heed new boy made a major impact after recent signing Marcus Dinanga netted his first goal for the club to ensure they preserved their unbeaten run against David Unsworth’s side this season.

Speaking after the game, Williamson said: “The boys were magnificent and obviously Callum coming in has made an instant impact. He was fantastic and a really big addition for us. I think we could have made it more comfortable in the latter stages but when you’re playing a team that’s big and strong with unbelievable players coming off the bench. We are just glad to get those three points.

“I want him (Marcus Dinanga) there scoring as many scrappy goals as he can and I think that’s what we are lacking. He’s had some difficult games to come on. Solihull, we were getting our width from our number tens and obviously at Southend we were down to ten men. He’s put battling performances in and he’s got his reward.”