00:00Gateshead have enjoyed the most successful period in their recent history over the last
00:05few years, off the back of the club nearly going out of business altogether.
00:10The man who has overseen this transformation has been chairman Neil Pinkerton, who told
00:14Tyne and Wear TV that the club has the fans and the community to thank.
00:21The club's where it is now because we're all fans and the local community rallied around
00:25and continues to support the club, the rest of the board, do what they need to do and
00:31work as well as a team and we are trying to obviously progress further and further and
00:36that takes more and more and that's what we want to achieve, the AFL, which is ultimately
00:43where the club and the borough deserves to have a full time professional team.
00:49This week Gateshead appointed locally born Carl Magne as its new manager, someone who
00:54Pinkerton saw as the perfect fit to continue the club's progression towards its overall goals.
00:59We know all about Carl from a player coach over the years and it was an obvious choice
01:09for us to pursue and finally we've got over that hurdle and he's here now.
01:20Magne had been at Carlisle United alongside former Gateshead manager Mike Williamson,
01:25something which Pinkerton revealed gave him satisfaction in being able to bring Magne
01:29back to the international stadium.
01:31Yeah, we're all friends so we'll remain friends and continue to do so, so those conversations
01:39are easier when you know the people that you're dealing with and it was nice to finally get
01:45one back on Mike again.
01:48A question that has been on the lips of all Gateshead fans since the end of last season
01:52has been whether the club can be promoted this year following it being prevented from
01:57taking part in the National League play-offs due to the stadium lease not meeting EFL rules.
02:02Pinkerton hinted that things may well be resolved.
02:06We're hoping that there will be some positive news in the coming weeks, we can't say anything
02:12now really, apart from that we expect everything to be positive and you know we'll be, as long
02:19as we're up there, we'll be eligible to go and meet in the play-offs and to be promoted.
02:24With that in mind, Pinkerton ended with a thought to what Gateshead could achieve in
02:28the coming years if the club continues on its current trajectory, with a nod to other
02:33similar clubs in similar towns who have defied the odds to climb the football pyramid.
02:39You just have to look at your Crawleys, your Fleetwoods, and they've managed to get to League One.
02:45We are a town much bigger, yes we're saddled with the big hitters, but there is definitely
02:52scope there to sustain a football league club and why not in League One.
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