On-loan Derby County youngster makes Gateshead loan admission

Derby County youngster Ben Radcliffe has taken the first steps towards emulating Rams team-mate Dajaune Brown during his loan spell with Gateshead.

Just nine months have passed since Brown joined the National League club on loan for the second half of last season before going on to make a major impact at the International Stadium. The young striker went on to establish himself within Rob Elliot’s side and scored the winning penalty as the Heed claimed a penalty shoot-out win against Solihull Moors to lift the FA Trophy for the first time in their history. Brown returned to the newly-promoted Championship club during the summer and despite being the subject of interest from a number of EFL clubs has now penned a new long-term deal at Pride Park.

The success of Brown’s temporary stint in the North East helped kickstart a positive relationship between the Heed and the Rams - and that has led to another loan deal being agreed between the two clubs when Radcliffe agreed to a half-season stint at the International Stadium. The young defender has made an impressive to life with Gateshead and scored his first goal for the club during a man of the match display in a 2-0 home win against Boston United in midweek. Radcliffe admitted the ‘positive environment’ he has found at Gateshead has made it easy to settle into life in the National League and revealed he is keen to use his loan spell as a chance to impress as his Derby deal heads into its final months.

He told The Echo: "I am here for me as much as anything. I need the exposure and opportunity to impress. Maybe playing academy football at Derby wasn't giving me that opportunity. I've had experience with men's football before and I'll be honest I was really missing that. This is the perfect place for me to come. Rob (Elliot) is great as a person and as a manager he has really welcomed me. I've got that enjoyment and buzz back about my football. I am loving every minute here.

“The environment we create here as a team, we openly admit we haven’t got the best budget or facilities in the world, but we’ve got a set of lads willing to fight for each other and you can’t buy that. I’ve been here two or three weeks and I feel like I’ve been here for a year. For me personally, I found it difficult to learn everything with the style of play but I feel like I’m settling in and it’s a style of play I enjoy so it feels like it’s made it a positive environment for me and for everyone else.”

The midweek win against Boston helped Gateshead move on from a mini blip in form after they followed up their first league defeat of the season at Dagenham and Redbridge with a home loss against Forest Green Rovers. However, in seeing off the Pilgrims in front of their home support, Elliot’s men are now in a positive frame of mind ahead of a tough-looking visit to Southend United on Saturday afternoon. Radcliffe was adamant the consecutive defeats suffered earlier this month were not reflective of his side’s performances - but stressed just how important gaining a first win in three games was in midweek.

“It was important to get back to winning ways. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks where we thought the performances were there but the results weren’t showing it,” he explained. “A goal, a clean sheet, personally it couldn’t have gone much better but it’s more important for the team to get that win. We have looked at the stats and the data from the games and it shows domination even though the results don’t.”

After a tentative start to his loan with Gateshead, Radcliffe is starting to show just why Heed manager Elliot was so keen to take him on loan and hand him an opportunity to shine in non-league football’s top tier. The former Newcastle United goalkeeper has already described his young addition as ‘outstanding’ - and Radcliffe revealed that respect is mutual after he revealed just how important Elliot has been in helping him settle into life on the south bank of the Tyne.

“He’s brilliant for me personally. His style of play suits me perfectly - but you look personally, he’s so easy to approach and so knowledgable of the game and even in the short space of time we’ve worked together, I feel like I’ve learnt so much from him and the other lads as well. The likes of Louis (Storey), Boots (Regan Booty) and Tinks (Robbie Tinkler), there’s experienced lads in there and I am learning from them every day. It’s really helping me develop.”