By Mark Carruthers
Gateshead assistant manager Ian Watson wants to give the local community ‘something to be proud of’ when his side face Barnet in the FA Trophy semi-final on Saturday afternoon.
The Tynesiders have endured a challenging season on the pitch as their injury-decimated squad has battled against relegation from the National League after securing promotion as last season’s National League North champions.
Mike Williamson’s side have shown glimpses of the form that led to their title win in recent weeks and they head into Saturday’s home tie with the Bees on the back of two impressive wins against Aldershot Town and Dagenham and Redbridge that took them out of the relegation zone.
Saturday’s last-four clash will be another big occasion for Gateshead as they look to continue their journey back from the crisis that took the club within 72 hours of going out of business just under four years ago.
A rescue bid launched by a supporter-led consortium put them the road to recovery and they will hope that will reach a new destination at Wembley by securing a first FA Trophy Final appearances at Non-League Finals Day in May.
Speaking ahead of the semi-final, Watson told The NLP: “It’s one for the club and it’s one for the supporters.
“As a coaching team, you sometimes get bogged down with the fact we are in a relegation battle and you’re totally focused on that all of the time.
“If I am honest, I haven’t really thought about the game, so when it does come, it sidetracks you a bit.
“But this is huge for the supporters, one game from Wembley, 90 minutes, it’s a straight shoot-out and we always say we want the community to be proud of the club and I think occasions like this do that.
“They get that bit of attention, it promotes the club, it’s better for the community, it gives the community a club to be proud of.”
Gateshead have a number of players unavailable for the tie after they featured for their previous clubs in earlier rounds.
And one more key figure will also miss out after Heed player-manager Williamson suffered a serious-looking knee injury in the final moments of training earlier this week.
However, Watson insisted the former Newcastle United defender will remain an influential presence for his side between now and the end of the season and stressed just how lucky they are to have him at the club.
“If you know Mike, his mentality is just ridiculous.
“He went down with three minutes left of the session, passing the ball back and his knee has just totally collapsed underneath him.
“It’s not looking good, he’s gone for a scan to see what the damage is. But he will lead us, however that is, on the pitch, off the pitch, he’s an unbelievable manager that we are lucky to have at the football club and his presence will be enough to see us to the end of the season.”
