Interview taken from issue 227 of HeedLines, sold at the Vanarama National League fixture against Dagenham & Redbridge on Tuesday, March 12.
Carl Magnay is learning from a Champions League winner in his quest to take Gateshead to the National League play-offs.
With the stakes increasing with each passing game as Magnay and company head into the final 10 games of the season, the interim first-team coach has sought inspiration in his other role with Premier League giants Chelsea in an effort to fire The Heed to the National League’s top seven.
“I get footage of training sessions from when Thomas Tuchel was manager in particular,” said the 35-year-old.
“He played a similar system to what we do now, so I like to see how he approached his sessions and take little ideas from it.
“I’m constantly on the phone to James Simmonds who is the assistant manager of the under-21s at Chelsea, so it’s proven a massive help being able to lean on a club at the highest level.
“It’s definitely helped from a recruitment perspective. Dajaune for example was someone I had come across playing for Derby, and Eddie was fairly straightforward.
“We asked the question with Ross Turnbull and they were very keen straight away because of the way we play.
“They knew that Eddie would be challenged with his feet, and that was an aspect of his play they wanted to see improvement in.
“That’s an example of how our style at Gateshead is able to attract top clubs, and that continues to be a theme with most players we bring in on loan.
“We’ve got a great reputation throughout the Football League and even in the Premier League.”
Magnay’s coaching journey doesn’t only involve taking inspiration from others in the game however, with the former defender often looking inward to tweak aspects of his own approach now that taking to the field himself isn’t occupying cognitive capacity.
One such alteration has come on the touchline, with his apparently more mellow demeanour picked up on by a match official with whom he had crossed paths as a player.
“I came across a referee in one of the early games I was on the touchline for, and he made a comment that he couldn’t believe how mild-mannered I was!” he added.
“As a player, I mellowed a little bit towards the end of my career, but I was always very emotionally invested in the game and was quite vocal.
“I’m learning as I go because I’ve still picked up a couple of yellow cards – harshly in my opinion – but there’s greater responsibility now in this role.
“We’re probably the biggest visual representation of the club on the touchline, and how you conduct yourself on the touchline is really important in how the club is viewed.
Photo: Charlie Waugh
“I don’t want to be someone who has a reputation for being a nightmare with referees.
“It obviously does get frustrating at times with decisions, and you’ve just got to accept that it’s part of the game.
“I am being a lot more calculated in how I conduct myself, and it was interesting that the referee had noticed that as it is something I’m actively trying to address.”
The chess-like mini-game of touchline management within football is one that Magnay – as well as Rob Elliot and Louis Storey – are learning through experience in the National League, with the trio coming up against plenty of seasoned veterans in the dugout.
Managers such as Kidderminster Harriers’ Phil Brown have led teams at the top level of English football, while Oldham Athletic’s Micky Mellon is just one other name with a wealth of Football League experience in a managerial sense.
Being proactive, Magnay says he has learned, is one of the most important things to bring to the touchline.
“The biggest challenge for me is thinking on your feet, being aware of what the opposition are doing and what the other dugout is thinking,” he said.
“You’ve got to be alive and make decisions throughout the game. It’s very easy to get fixated on the game and freeze, not make a change and allow the game to pass you by.
“That’s the biggest thing that I’m working on in analysing and observing what the opposition are doing, but ultimately it’s about the work that you do through the week.
“I know that our group of players have the ability to beat anyone in the league on their day, so I’ve got full faith in the quality we have that even if we don’t get everything right, their quality still shines through and wins you games of football.
“I’m not someone who wants to make it about myself – I’m really not bothered about my reputation or status and what winning games does for that.
“I’m not really thinking about it until after these games, but when you sit and reflect on the challenges we’ve come up against and what we’ve done so far, I’m really proud.
“These are people who have spent years and years in the game, and we’re playing a really brave and risky style of football against these people and invariably we’ve come out on top.
“It’s brilliant for our learning, coming up against these different managers, and we always make sure that after games we have a chat and take little bits from them.”
Such has been Gateshead’s success on the pitch this season, that the challenges Magnay mentions have been almost entirely left in the rear-view mirror.
The departures of Mike Williamson, Ian Watson and Chris Bell in October plunged the club into uncertainty, while a number of injuries and players leaving the club in January saw many neutrals write Gateshead’s chances of a top seven finish off completely.
Here we sit in March though, and the chance of a shot at promotion to the Football League via the play-offs for the first time in 10 years is a real prospect.
“I was thinking about this the other day,” said Magnay.
“We’re in an unbelievable position considering what we’ve gone through this season.
“The fact that we’re sat here with 10 games to go and we’ve still got really tangible goals is unbelievable, and it’s a real credit to the boys.
“We have to alleviate the pressure, though there is no pressure on the players as far as I’m concerned.
“I was disappointed with the result last week against Solihull and I just felt that the boys are starting to place more pressure on themselves, so I think the message is just to take it off.
“We’re in an incredible position – against the odds in my opinion – and they’ve just got to play with freedom.
“The way we want them to play is really difficult, so adding unnecessary pressure is only going to make that harder for them to get to get the points we need to stay in the play-offs.
“Nobody expected us to be here, particularly in January when everyone was writing us off, so we’ve just got to enjoy it.”
