Carl Magnay has spoken on his return to Gateshead, where he is now Manager, alongside Assistant Liam Bridcutt. Magnay gave thoughts on taking the role, continuing the club’s progression, and whether they could be promoted. Daniel Wales reports.
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00:00The door opened on a new era at the Gateshead International Stadium on Tuesday,
00:05as Karl Magne and Liam Bridcutt emerged to take over the reins at Gateshead.
00:10This is Magne's first managerial role, and perhaps the perfect fit at the perfect time for both him and the club.
00:19If I was ever going to take a job at this stage of my career, which is in its infancy, you would say, in terms of coaching,
00:25Gateshead would be the job because I know the fabric of the club, I know the players,
00:29I know the off-field stuff, the resources that it has, I know the club inside out,
00:37so if there was any apprehension, which I'm sure there will be, there will be people who have their opinions,
00:42and that's absolutely fine. I'm a young manager, I get that, but I'm a young manager who's prepared,
00:48particularly at this football club. I know what it takes to motivate the players,
00:52and I'm really excited about it, and I'm sure we'll be successful, I've no doubt about that.
00:58Given that Magne was present under both previous coaching set-ups at Gateshead,
01:02which brought the club so much success, he will hope to be a continuation of that progress.
01:07In terms of how it operates off the pitch as well as on it, the same way as Mike and Rob did,
01:12and I've had the benefit of watching them two work in their own ways, in their own styles,
01:17that have ultimately been a success for the club, so I want to bring all that good work together,
01:21and then, as and when, improve it wherever I see fit, or if it needs improving at all.
01:29The club's in a really good place, we've got a great squad of players together,
01:32and the last thing I want to do is unsettle that. I'm fully behind everything that's going on.
01:37Magne then spoke on his assistant Bridgut, and why he has chosen the former Leeds and Sunderland player
01:43to be his number two at the Heed.
01:45Liam's got a fantastic experience, he's played at the top level,
01:49he's been exposed to different managers, different styles,
01:52he was a player coach towards the back end of his career, so he's got experience on the grass,
01:57he's been working at Newcastle lately as a coach in the youth set-up there.
02:03Bridgut himself was on hand to offer his own thoughts on what he could bring to the set-up.
02:08I just think in terms of my experience, I've played at the highest level,
02:14I've worked with some of the best coaches in world football,
02:18and I've learned a lot over the years.
02:20Like I said, I'm still early in my own coaching journey,
02:24but I think the knowledge and experience that I bring to the group as a coach can help them massively.
02:31Finally, would Magne have returned to the club so soon if it were not able to be promoted at the end of the season?
02:39Well, I wouldn't be stood here if it wasn't possible to have something tangible at the end of the season,
02:43I'm fairly convinced on that.
02:45We've got the players to do it, I've watched some of the games live,
02:49I've been at the ground and watched some of the games live,
02:51I've watched games on video, and some of the performances have been outstanding,
02:56so we've got a lot to work with.