Heed’s promotion proves bittersweet for star Campbell
Striker misses big day but is excited about future
GATESHEAD striker Adam Campbell admits he was ‘gutted’ at missing out on the Heed’s day of glory at Chorley on Monday.
Mike Williamson’s men clinched the Vanarama National League North title with a 2-2 draw in Lancashire and with it promotion.
Campbell had finished the season strongly with goals and assists and has been an integral part in Gateshead’s success.
A knee injury sustained late on in Saturday’s win over Southport left the former Newcastle man with a watching brief at Victory Park.
While his injury is not long-term, Saturday’s final game at home to Hereford is likely to come soon.
That is the day Gateshead will be presented with the National League North Trophy in front of what is expected to be a large crowd.
Campbell said: “If we still needed points to clinch the title I would probably play against Hereford.
“I certainly want to but the physio does not think it would be worth the risk, so it looks like I’ll be watching from the sidelines again.
“It’s frustrating missing out at the death but that’s football.
“It’s been a great season and to win the league is a great achievement.”
Campbell made more than a century of appearances in the Football League and joined the Gateshead revolution last summer.
He has contributed 14 goals and plenty of assists in a Gateshead side which has scored 114 goals this season with one game left.
The 27-year-old is frustrated he won’t have the chance to better his previous best goalscoring season, 16 with Darlington in 2019/20.
He added: “Everyone wants to score goals and I’m no different and the other three strikers scoring goals took the pressure off me.
“At the business end of the season the pressure was on but we backed ourselves to play our game and it has paid off.
“We have given everything this season and that’s all you can ask for we’ve left everything on the pitch.”
The Tynesiders go into their final game needing three goals to hit the magical figure of 100 in the league.
Campbell insisted: “If we play as we can, and have done in the past, we can hurt any team and it would be really nice if we could get to 100 goals..
“We also had 100 points in our sights to be honest but the main aim was to win the league and we’ve done that.
“We have been really good at home, so it’s good we finish there on Saturday as the fans have played a massive part in our success.
“The pitch has also helped us and we’re a lot more confident of playing our passing style at the International Stadium.”
Campbell believes the group of players and the attractive and attacking style of football at Gateshead has made it a memorable season.
He went on: “It’s not just the way we play, everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and that’s down to the structure we’ve been given.
“It has been the most enjoyable season I have had in football since I left Newcastle in 2015.
“I just wish I’d been at this stage of my career seven years ago.
“If I’d had Mike Williamson as boss back then I would have enjoyed my career a lot more.”
Campbell recently signed a new two-year contract and is delighted both he and Gateshead will be playing Conference Premier football next season.
He said: “It’s the least the club deserves and the people who have put in the hard work and have been fighting for years, it’s the least they deserve.
“If the coaching staff stay I’m confident we will adapt to the higher level - we proved that in the FA Cup games against Altrincham and Charlton.
“If we can build in the summer there’s no reason why we can’t comfortably make the step up.”