Rob Elliot parts company with Gateshead

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Former Newcastle United and Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Rob Elliot has parted company with Gateshead after lengthy and wide-ranging discussions over the future direction of the National League club.

Elliot guided the North East club to an remarkable escape from relegation from Non-League’s top tier during the second half of last season after agreeing to return for a second stint as manager in January. A slow start to his return saw Gateshead extend their run without a win to 15 games and a home loss against Brackley Town left them 12 points from safety.

However, a first win against FC Halifax Town in a quarter of a century sparked a stunning upturn in form as Elliot’s men lost just two of their following 15 games and their great escape was officially secured with a narrow victory at Aldershot Town in the final fortnight of another season of change on the south bank of the Tyne.

Discussions

Elliot and the Gateshead hierarchy have been locked in talks over the last month as the former Republic of Ireland international looked for signs of progression on and off the pitch. Those discussions centred around a new training venue, strengthening the infrastructure at the International Stadium and ensuring Elliot was able to retain the services of the majority of the squad that had guided the club to safety.

As it stands, the Heed have still not announced details of their retained list and that will raise concern over the future of key stars such as club captain Kenton Richardson and influential winger Harry Chapman, who both find themselves out of contract this summer.

In a lengthy statement posted on Wednesday evening, Gateshead have stated meeting Elliot’s terms would ‘project the club immediately into an even more heavily negative financial position and an uncertain future’ and confirmed they had parted company after the latest round of talks.

The statement went on to say: “Rob is at a point in his career where he rightly has his own ambition. We will always love and respect him, appreciate what he has done for Gateshead and welcome him back as soon as we can build a club that can match his ambition, which is of course the plan that we are working toward.

“We would like to place on record our deep appreciation and respect for Rob. We share his ambitions and will work to make him proud of the direction we move in and wish him nothing but huge success in any new role.”

Interest

Elliot is believed to have interest from at least two other clubs and it remains to be seen whether that interest will be stepped up in the aftermath of his departure from Gateshead. However, the NLP has been told any thoughts of a move elsewhere played no part in his departure from the International Stadium and the now former Heed boss remained fully focused on finding a resolution with the Tynesiders before a parting of company was agreed.

Speaking in the statement confirming his departure, Elliot admit he has found it difficult to bring an end to his second spell in charge at the International Stadium and gave an insight into why he felt it was right to move on.

He said: “It’s hard to say goodbye when we achieved something so special last year. When I came back, I had belief we could stay up and keep the club in the National League. When I first spoke with the club, it was integral to me coming back that things were put in place to also develop the club further on and off the pitch, with a training ground and staffing to be put in place to help develop the players – regardless of which league we were in.

“Unfortunately, that isn’t able to happen. After speaking with the club at length over the last few weeks, it’s not something the club are able to commit to. Through this, along with not being able to retain all of the players and staff who achieved safety, it didn’t feel right for me to remain when others who gave so much aren’t able to continue the journey.”

Approval

Gateshead have moved to assure fans they will ‘work as quickly as possible’ to announce details of Elliot’s successor and provide information on their retained list and pre-season fixtures.

There was also confirmation Hartlepool-born businessman Stephen Paylor has received the green light from the Football Association and National League to take up a role as co-chairman at the International Stadium.

However, Paylor is now awaiting clearance from the new Football Regulator under the Football Governance Act and he revealed that could take ‘two weeks or two months’ in a statement released ahead of Elliot’s departure.

Stephen Paylor has joined the board but is limited in his capacity to impact the club and take on a larger shareholding due to the ongoing process and the need for approval by the new Football Regulator under the new Football Governance Act. 

The Heed hierarchy have now revealed the actions Paylor is taking as he awaits a final all-clear to take a more formal role within the club.

They said: “Approvals from the FA and National League are complete, but we still have one final hurdle to clear. Stephen is using his time to review the club from top to bottom, learn the people, current culture and talk to all partners and will present his ideas for action once the Football Regulator’s process is complete.”