Former Sunderland and Leeds United boss hands boost to non-league neighbours and new manager

New Gateshead manager Carl Magnay has revealed he has called on the services of former Sunderland boss Simon Grayson as he settles into life in the dugout.

Grayson spent time in charge of the likes of Blackpool and Leeds United before he was named as Black Cats manager during the summer of 2017 as he looked to help the club bounce back from relegation from the Premier League. After collecting five points from the opening three games of the Championship season, Sunderland embarked on a lengthy run without a win and Grayson’s short-lived reign was brought to an end following a 3-3 home draw with Bolton Wanderers.

The former Aston Villa and Leicester City defender went on to spend time in charge of the likes of Bradford City and Fleetwood Town before making a surprise move to Indian club Bengaluru. He led the club to the Indian Super League Final during his first season in charge but saw his side suffer penalty shoot-out heartache against ATK Mohun Bagan before parting company with Bengaluru by mutual consent last December. Grayson has been a regular visit to Tyneside over the last year after his son Joe joined the Heed under former manager Mike Williamson and was on hand to see Gateshead lift the FA Trophy with a penalty shoot-out win against National League rivals Solihull Moors in May.

Williamson’s successor Rob Elliot left the Heed to take charge of League One club Crawley Town last month and Magnay returned to his former club to kick off his managerial career last week. The former Hartlepool United and Grimsby Town defender was in charge for Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Altrincham and he has revealed he has tapped into Grayson’s experience as he looks to help the Heed continue what has already been a promising opening two months to the season.

Speaking to the club website ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Sutton United, Magnay said: “I’m a young manager obviously and I’m all ears.  I want to absorb as much information as possible from experienced people like Simon.  He’s had a fantastic career as a manager and whilst he’s currently between jobs, I thought it was a great opportunity to utilise him and the boys really respect him.  It goes back to last season before the FA Trophy Final when he sent us a little video message and the boys loved that.  I could see the body language in the room perk up so from that point of view he was really relatable for the boys and he’s been great, he’s been on the pitch delivering little nuggets of information. For me, for my development, listening to the way he approached his team talks and the day-to-day running when he was a manager, it’s been gold dust.  I think there’s a saying I like which is the best coaches are the best thieves and I always like to pick information and how other people like to work.”

Following their midweek game at Sutton, Gateshead are back in action on Saturday when they host former FA Trophy Final opponents Solihull Moors in the first home game of Magnay’s reign.