ANTH SMITH used to run a business importing granite – now he’s in the profession of exporting Gateshead.
Yes, ambition is high in the north-east and the Heed boss is making no excuses for it.
Chairman Graham Wood has said before the target is the Football League – they were last members in 1960 before failing to be re-elected – and nothing has changed.
Last season saw the man who had masterminded their recent success, Ian Bogie, was sacked and a relegation dog-fight was a wretched one.
Their struggles not helped by pitch problems that meant a tour of the north to play ‘home games’ at the likes of Hartlepool, York, Carlisle United and Middlesbrough.
It all ended in a 17th place finish and a season everyone wants to quickly forget.
But with Smith, who was a well-known face about the place having led the club’s academy to the FA Alliance League title, now putting his own mark on the squad, optimism is not in short supply.
Two-time Conference winner Richard Brodie has arrived along with striker Adam Boyes, as well as the likes of former England Under-20 captain Josh Walker and the experienced Colin Larkin.
Smith, a pro at Sunderland and Northampton before injury cut his career short aged just 24, is ready to make his mark.
And for someone who has the perspective of working life outside football, the full-time challenge is something he is relishing.
“It’s totally different but it gives you a balanced view of things,” he says. “It makes you realise how fortunate you are when you work in football. When I worked out of football I managed businesses and it’s in a different spectrum.
“From a man-management point of view you’re dealing with totally different individuals. You’re talking about the bloke on the street and how they are, compared to footballers who, at times, get beyond themselves.
“Footballers are delicate, for want of a better word. They are temperamental at times. But one thing you’ll find with me as a manager, and with my staff, is that we are very straight laced. We tell it how it is.
Ambitions
“That’s come from me as a person working in normal jobs and managing people from that perspective. The players are well aware of that and they respond well to it.
“We don’t blow smoke up their backsides. Honesty is the key, regardless of what walk of life you’re in.
“There are times when you will like and times you will dislike what people say to you. That’s just life. It makes you a better person if you deal with it.
“It was a steep learning curve last year. As a manager or player you’ve got to self-analyse. I’ve looked at things where I maybe could have done better at times, that’s the way football is.
“You’ve got to keep learning, be open to new things all the time. That improves you as a person in whatever you do.”
Smith says he is “well pleased” with the quality the club have brought in during the summer and, in a league where margins are fine, doesn’t think they should be shy about their League ambitions.
“Most people would laugh but I’m sure all the others want the same,” Smith, who coached at Sunderland’s Academy for seven years and turned around the fortunes of Chester-le-Street Town before joining the Heed, says.
“It’s a clean slate and every club is looking to push for promotion regardless of who you are. That’s got to be the target.
“The ups and downs of the season will toss a few surprises about I’ve no doubt. You’ve got to set your targets high at the start.
“We’ve got to push, we’ve got to. We’ve certainly quality to do that and I’ve got no hesitation in saying it. As a manager if I was saying, ‘Go on, go and reach mid-table’. What sort of tone are you setting?
Excellence
“You’ve always got to strive for excellence. The quality we’ve brought in the areas that we needed should give you the confidence to say, ‘We can achieve that’.”
Last weekend Gateshead played their first game at the International Stadium in seven months – a 2-1 win against Northern League champions Darlington 1883.
Smith admitted it was a “weird” experience but is confident his squad will soon begin enjoying the home life again – as well as the competition he has introduced between them.
“We’re under no illusions at the club,” he says. “One thing we’ll say to the players is, ‘If I give you the shirt, only you will give me that back.’
“They’ll either give me that back for not living properly away from the field, which affects performance, or not performing on it.
“It’s not me taking it away from you, it’s you giving me it. And you might not get it back for a long time, so make sure you look after it when we give it you. That’s as far as we’ll go. It keeps them on their toes.
“The big thing we’ve got this year is competition in each position. They are well aware there is a different ethos about the place now and a different feel because they understand there is someone waiting in the wings to take their place.
“That wasn’t always the case. For a while the team more or less picked itself. We spoke during pre-season to say I’ve got the best problem a manager can have. That’s picking a team with so many options and so many headaches. It’s a great problem to have. Pre-season drags on a bit – I just can’t wait to get going now.”
