Steve Watson will soldier on at troubled Gateshead
Gaffer to stay on despite club going part-time
A TUMULTUOUS week and a half at Gateshead ended on a positive note on Friday when Steve Watson decided to stay on as manager. Watson, who took over the reins from Neil Aspin last October, had been looking forward to forming his own squad ahead of his first full season in management with the Heed. But with the club moving back to part-time football, the former Newcastle defender’s options look limited with a number of players leaving, with more set to follow. Last season’s top scorer Danny Johnson this week joined Motherwell and few of the 2017/18 squad are likely to be part of the forthcoming campaign. With the takeover from a foreign consortium falling through at the 11th hour, joint-owners Richard and Julie Bennett continue to fund the club.
Loyal
The playing budget, however, has been slashed from £6,500 to £3,500, which will end eight years of professional football at Gateshead, although Watson’s role as manager will remain full-time
The club also remains on the market, and while reverting to a part-time model is a backward step, chairman Richard Bennett is optimistic for the club’s future.
“Now is the right time, given the circumstances, to cut costs and get the club on a more sustainable footing,” said Bennett.
“We are in difficult times and didn’t want the club to fold on our watch. We are fans of the club and the aim is to stay in the National League. I’m delighted Steve Watson has agreed to stay as he’s an ambitious manager.
“We’ve now all got to pull together – there is still a club and that is crucial. I had considered putting Gateshead into administration. It wasn’t a route I wanted to take and we didn’t, but we have had to severely reduce costs.”
The collapse of the preferred bid from overseas left the Heed on the rocks, the potential investors meeting both Bennett and the National League.
A wealthy Asian businessman involved in a Shanghai shipping company fronted the bid, but it was the emergence of another key player that scuppered the deal.
The figures and business model didn’t stack up, putting Gateshead’s very future in doubt as the Bennetts were reluctant to put any more money into the club.
Almost nine decades of football in the town in various guises and divisions, including 30 years in the Football League, was on the line.
Budget
“It’s massively important that a town the size of Gateshead has a football club, and we’re confident new owners will eventually come in,” added Bennett.
For former Newcastle star Watson it couldn’t be a tougher proposition, with the odds heavily stacked against the 44-year-old Geordie.
It was a brave decision to continue as manager given the financial restraints and with no players signed on just two weeks ahead of preseason.
“We’re seven weeks behind everyone else,” admitted Watson. “Players have left and there will be more, but I’m hoping some will stay.
“I had other options but want to be a manager. It will be a massive challenge as we’ll probably have the lowest budget in the league.
“We’ll have gone from a side aiming for the play-offs to one looking to survive in and there’ll need to be a siege mentality among everyone.”