Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot is set to step down at National League club Gateshead,
Gateshead manager Rob Elliot (photo Emilio Kirtley)placeholder image
Gateshead manager Rob Elliot (photo Emilio Kirtley) | Emilio Kirtley
The 40-year-old returned to the International Stadium in January and oversaw a major turnaround in fortunes as he helped the Heed move on from a 15-game run without a win and avoid relegation from non-league football’s top tier. After making several new additions to his squad, a long-awaited win at FC Halifax Town triggered a run of just two defeats in 15 games that helped the Tynesiders move from 12 points from safety to avoiding relegation with a home win against Scunthorpe United in the final fortnight of the season.
Elliot set out his plans for the summer after a season of change came to a close and appeared to be fully focused on gathering more momentum after a remarkable final three months of the campaign.
Speaking earlier this month about his plans to piece together an exciting pre-season schedule in a bid to ‘attack the new season’, the Heed boss said: “We are trying to have some really positive news soon on games in pre-season and we are trying to get games that can generate huge revenue for the club. It obviously helps if we can get some games with the local sides at every level. Yes, we want to play the big teams but we also want to represent the non-league scene and play the sides around us too. We want to make it an enjoyable pre-season for everyone.
“We are fortunate to have a brilliant pitch with Newcastle United being here now but we have to protect that too so we have to be careful with the home friendly games. But we also know we need to get a good pre-season in place because it’s so important for the players and the club as a whole. A full pre-season means you will have fewer issues and we are looking forward to putting something in place that can help us attack the new season.”
However, the former Republic of Ireland international is now believed to be on the brink of stepping down after holding talks with the International Stadium hierarchy in recent weeks. As it stands, those discussions have failed to provide an agreed path over how the club can progress on and off the pitch - and that has led to Elliot considering his future. The former Crawley Town manager is believed to have interest from elsewhere after inspiring an impressive upturn in fortunes over the last six months at Gateshead - but that is not believed to have played a part in the current situation.
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