Few inside Gateshead International Stadium on match days are as laid back as Archie Mair.
The 22-year-old has earned a reputation as a goalkeeper who likely touches the ball with his feet far more than his hands on a regular National League game day – but that’s exactly the way Rob Elliot and his coaching staff like it.
It will come as little surprise then, that Mair was in fact as keen an outfield player during his youth as he was a goalkeeper.
“I did a bit of both when I was younger,” he said.
“I probably actually played outfield a bit more than I did in goal, and then I went to one of those summer camps you’d go to as a kid for the week and did goalkeeping, and that was when I got picked up by Aberdeen.”
Pittodrie remained his home from the age of eight until a move to Norwich City materialised in the summer of 2019, preceding a raft of loans into the Football League and National League with Lincoln City, King’s Lynn Town, Notts County and now Gateshead.
Mair’s time in the black and white half of Nottingham culminated in writing himself into club folklore with play-off final penalty shoot-out saves sending Notts back to League Two, as former Gateshead duo Cedwyn Scott and Macaulay Langstaff netted penalties along the way.
That moment is one which Mair is still frequently reminded of almost anywhere he goes, not that he’s complaining though.
Mair became a cult hero among Notts County supporters after his Wembley shoot-out heroics.
“It’s really nice to be honest,” he said.
“I remember at Solihull last month, a photographer came up to me before the game and told me he was a Notts fan.
“It is strange that you got to different places and there always tends to be a Notts fan there, so it is really nice to get recognition and little reminders from people.
“I try not to get too hung up on it though as you can’t always be looking back, although it is a huge moment and the best one I’ve had so far in my career.
“It will be hard to top and it’s important to be proud of it, but also to move forward with the here and now.
“I just need to focus on what I’m doing to build on it moving forward, and to try and get more moments like that, which is what you play football for.”
The first step of moving forward – according to Mair upon his arrival at Gateshead in the summer – was to become a club’s number one goalkeeper.
He has done just that on Tyneside in number and status, and had kept seven clean sheets in the National League across 22 appearances prior to Saturday’s fixtures – the joint-second highest in the division.
One contributing factor to that, Mair believes, is the playing style which sees Gateshead top the possession charts.
“It helps because you’re involved in the game a lot,” he said.
“If you’re playing for a team that doesn’t have the ball, you’re actually involved less because they’re just sitting behind it.
“Playing here, I’m always getting involved, so there aren’t really any periods where you go five or 10 minutes without touching the ball.
“You always feel like you’ve got as big a job to do in possession as you do out of it, so it helps from my point of view being involved to that extent.
“I’m quite laid back when I’m playing – it’s always been my style.
“It’s not something I’ve had to go out of my way to think about or really hone in on, it’s just always been me.
“I guess growing up when I still loved playing outfield I would join in with a lot of the outfield training, so then going into games I’d almost see it as being an outfielder when on the ball, and almost changing into being a goalkeeper out of possession.
“I wouldn’t say I feel the risk when I’m doing it, it just comes naturally and goes off instinct or what we’ve been working on in training that week.”
Now past the midway point of the season, Mair and company have been penned by many as challengers to the division’s play-off positions.
A change in the dugout has brought with it slight tweaks on the pitch, but the Gateshead way of playing has largely persisted, and the Scotsman is now focused on giving even more for the business half of the season.
“I definitely think there is more to give,” he added.
“It’s really beneficial from me hearing from someone like Rob, who’s played at the level he has, and especially as a goalkeeper you listen to every word he says.
“Only Halifax have more clean sheets than us, and with the way we’re playing you wouldn’t really associate that side of the game with Gateshead.
“As a goalkeeper and a defensive unit that’s what you strive for, but as a group and personally there is definitely more to give, and we want to push on in the second half of the season and challenge even more.”
