Interview taken from issue 224 of HeedLines, sold at our Vanarama National League fixture against Oxford City.
Few sights are more familiar than James Montgomery in a Gateshead shirt.
This week brought the fan-favourite back to Tyneside for the fourth time, with Montgomery re-joining the club on a one-month loan from Spennymoor Town.
His latest stint with The Heed is possibly the most unexpected one of the lot though, with the 29-year-old answering the call to arms mere days before putting pen to paper due to Eddie Beach and Harrison Bond’s illness and injury woes.
“The manager from Spennymoor rang me on Friday,” Montgomery said.
“He said that Gateshead were interested and asked if I would be interested in going back for a month.
“Obviously it’s a place where I’ve always loved playing – I think I’ve said this for the third time now after coming back!
“For me, I was right up for it and I’m loving coming back for the next few games in the run in.
“I’m sure I will have to speak to [Rob] about the differences since I was last here playing wise, though I think the club still has the same structure and it will just be fine tweaks for me to get used to.
Photo: Emilio Kirtley
“I’ve played in loads of different formations and styles over the years, so it shouldn’t be too foreign to what I’m used to.
“It’s just exciting to come back and play for the club. I’ve got many fond memories here and hopefully we can build on that with some good performances in the next few weeks.
“We’ll see where that leads the club and what position it puts us in, but I’m not looking too far ahead.
“Hopefully I can help to beat the opposition in front of us on the day and just see where it takes us.”
By his own admission, the James Montgomery returning to Gateshead in 2024 is in a much different place in life to the one that began the 2022/23 season on Tyneside.
The move to part-time football with Spennymoor Town has afforded him free time away from playing for the first time in his career, and a multitude of endeavours now occupy that space.
Whether that is releasing new products under the umbrella of his goalkeeping company, GK Monté, coaching a new generation of shot-stoppers within the academy system at Newcastle United, or working with children who have extra educational needs, it’s fair to say that Montgomery’s time is well tended to.
“It’s been a massive lifestyle change,” he added.
“I’m still running my glove company and doing some coaching at Newcastle alongside that as well but going part-time has given me the chance to start working in a school for kids with educational needs.
“That came around on the off chance that I spoke to Glen Taylor and James Curtis on one of the away journeys at Spennymoor, and they said they’d put in a word for me.
“I met their boss on the Monday and then I was working for him on the Tuesday, so it went by really quickly, but it’s been something I’ve enjoyed doing.
“That takes up a big chunk of my week now, as well as all of the other jobs and still playing on the side as well, so it’s all quite crazy.”
Not least of all on the lifestyle change front is Montgomery’s foray into fatherhood, with he and his partner, Demi, expecting their first child in April this year.
The 29-year-old will join a number of his team-mates in the world of parenting, with Callum Whelan and Robbie Tinkler also bringing new-borns of their own into the world in 2023.
“If ever I was ready, I think now is the time,” he said.
“I’ve really matured in the last year or so.
“I just feel like I’ve really grown up and I’m ready for that stage in my life now.
“I’m not the young kid that I was when I first came to Gateshead anymore. I’m actually 30 on the last day of the season, so if I don’t grow up now I never will!
“It’s something I’ve always wanted – I’ve always dreamed of having kids.
“I’m really close with my nephew, he’s obsessed with Greg Olley because his first game was the day we won the league when Greg walked him out at the stadium.
“Having little ones is always something I wanted, and when I met my partner I knew she was the one I wanted to have kids with.”
With a baby on the way then, and Gateshead very much in both the play-off race as well as hosting an Isuzu FA Trophy quarter-final tie against Peterborough Sports in March, it’s fair to say that 2024 could be the most eventful year yet for the 29-year-old.
The temptation to get ahead of yourself such a scenario is undoubtedly present, but for now, the aim for Montgomery is as straight-forward as it comes.
“I just want to take things game by game,” he said.
“For me, I’ll try to have a positive impact in the time that I’m here, and whenever I’m called upon to play for Gateshead.”
