A former Sunderland youngster has impressed Lee Cattermole during the first two weeks of his time with Gateshead.
Former Sunderland youngster Tommy Lavery has been praised for the attitude he has shown during the early weeks of his time with non-league neighbours Gateshead.
The 20-year-old agreed a two-year deal at the International Stadium last month as he became former Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole’s first signing as manager of the National League club - and he trained with his new team-mates for the first time when the Heed players returned for pre-season training last week.
Former Sunderland youngster Tommy Lavery has signed a two-year deal at National League neighbours Gateshead (photo Jack McGraghan)placeholder image
Former Sunderland youngster Tommy Lavery has signed a two-year deal at National League neighbours Gateshead (photo Jack McGraghan) | Jack McGraghan
Lavery was handed his first appearance in a Gateshead shirt when he appeared as a half-time substitute in Tuesday night’s pre-season friendly win at Northern League club Blyth Town as Cattermole’s reign got underway with a 6-0 victory at Gateway Park. The young defender gave a confident and steady display in the heart of the Heed backline and earned praise from his new manager as Cattermole revealed he delight over the attitude Lavery had shown since joining Gateshead.
He told The Echo: “Tommy did well, he did well. He has come into a new environment and he’s still settling in but he’s settling in well. He’s six days into the new environment and it’s up to us to help him. There are loads of areas of the game where we can improve him and work with him and he just needs to keep showing up and showing the attitude he has done. He’s a great size, he’s had a great pedigree down at Sunderland and everything we heard before bringing him in was positive. Like for every player, the challenges are coming, but what keeps you going is how you approach it with your attitude.”
Opportunity
Martin Smith has been named as a coach at National League club Gateshead (photo Gateshead FC)placeholder image
Martin Smith has been named as a coach at National League club Gateshead (photo Gateshead FC) | Gateshead FC
Another former Sunderland academy player made an appearance during the win in Northumberland as newly-appointed Heed first-team coach Martin Smith, who played alongside the likes of Lynden Gooch and George Honeyman during his time at the Academy of Light, was handed an unexpected start by Cattermole.
The Heed boss confirmed the former South Shields and Hartlepool United midfielder will not combine playing duties with his coaching role during the season and explained the thinking behind his on-field appearance during Tuesday night’s win.
He said: “If you’ve got a coach on the staff that can still play, and Martin definitely can, it’s an opportunity to play and let him feel what we are working on in training. There was a tactic there from a staff point of view where we thought why use a young player when Martin could go in and feel what we are doing on the pitch and make use of that as a coach. We have an added bonus having Smudge like that. The lads know that he is first-team coach, he’s not in a dual role here.”
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