The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Revitalised Allan is targeting Heed glory
FORMER Newcastle United forward Tom Allan is ready to move on from a “major low point” in his career and help Gateshead in their race for historic success throughout the remainder of the season.
The 24-year-old looked to be on the brink of a breakthrough into the Magpies first-team setup when he came off the bench to set up a goal for Joelinton in an FA Cup third round replay win over Rochdale just over four years ago.
But that proved to be the sum total of his senior experience with his boyhood club as underwhelming loan spells at Accrington Stanley and Greenock Morton preceded Allan’s release from Newcastle during the summer of 2022.
A promising start to life at Gateshead brought a first goal in only his second appearance in a 1-1 home draw with Notts County – but injuries continued to hamper his attempts to settle into life in the top tier of the non-league game.
That seemed to set the tone for Allan’s time at the International Stadium and the Geordie forward suffered a further blow when he suffered a serious injury earlier this season.
However, the first tentative steps in an on-field comeback were taken last weekend when he came off the bench in an FA Trophy quarter-final win against Peterborough Sports – and Allan is determined to repay the faith of some key figures at Gateshead by helping their bid for success.
He told The Chronicle: “It’s amazing to be back, it’s been around four months and it was just a breath of fresh air to be back.
“It’s now about kicking on for the run-in and making sure I can do what I can to help the team get to where we want to be. It was in the FA Trophy at Rochdale and I just went to take a shot and the abductor tendon popped off the bone so it was nasty.
“I tried to play on but it just wasn’t happening. I had to let it reattach, that took a couple of weeks and then it was about building it back up from there. The physio has been great and I owe a lot to him.”
If Allan’s season has been somewhat disrupted, it is hard to know how to describe the amount of challenges faced by his club after Gateshead have overcome a number of blows to maintain their push for success.
The loss of former manager Mike Williamson, assistant manager Ian Watson and coach Chris
Bell to League Two club MK Dons in October was a major setback and an ongoing battle with a lengthy list of injuries hardly helped the cause.
January proved further disruption for interim manager and former Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot as in-form forward Stephen Wearne was reunited with Williamson at Stadium:mk and loan stars Kyran Lofthouse, Archie Mair and Billy Chadwick were all recalled by their former clubs. Yet a number of new signings have boosted the Heed ranks and reinvigorated hopes Elliot and coaches Louis Storey and Carl Magnay can lead their side into the National League playoffs for only the second time in the club’s history.
The appointment of Elliot also offered a fresh start for Allan, who has been the subject of consistent praise and support from the Heed boss. He said: “I think everyone knows it hasn’t quite gone how I hoped it would since I came in here, but since Rob has come in as manager he’s given me a chance and supported me.
“I think I might have been on the way out when Mike was here but Rob, Louis and Mags have given me all of the support I needed. It’s been a fresh start for me when they took over and they have been really positive with me throughout all of this.
“In the 18 months I’ve been here, there have been some major low points and you can say that’s football.
“You just have to ride them out and the highs are always easier than the lows so I want to try and enjoy some highs here now.”
The Heed could hit the highest of highs over the next two months as they continue to push for unprecedented success on two fronts between now and the end of the season.
Last weekend’s FA Trophy quarter-final win against Peterborough Sports took Elliot’s side to within 90 minutes of a second successive final, and they will host Northern Premier League club Macclesfield in the last four of the competition next month.
Tuesday’s narrow home win against Dagenham and Redbridge also kept Gateshead firmly in the hunt for a play-off place in the National League.
“I know the club was there a few years ago in terms of the play-offs and then there was last year’s FA Trophy run, but we are punching above our weight in both competitions,” said Allan.
“Everyone in the squad is fighting for places, myself included, and we will all have a part to play during the run-in.”