Football Season Guide

Gateshead start the season as one of the serious promotion contenders after undergoing an impressive upturn in fortunes last year. Gary Mills took over last September when the team seemed to be struggling badly. Yet, he managed to turn them into play-off contenders in no time and they made it all the way to the play-off final against Cambridge. They were eventually found wanting there and missed out on a Football League promotion but it was still a memorable campaign all-round. Mills is a very astute coach at this level and he will be highly motivated to make the extra step in the upcoming campaign. He will be in confident mood and the squad looks more complete than last year. The one weak point last season was the lack of natural striker who can score the goals. Yet, Jon Shaw, who had scored 30 goals for the Heed in 2011/12, is back after a couple of poor seasons at Luton and he is a cult hero at among the Tynesiders. If he finds back his form, he will be a huge asset up front while Michael Rankine and Lewis Guy offer attacking alternatives as well. That makes Gateshead look very dangerous in attack and there is also a lot to like about their defence, which was one of the meanest in the league last season The only significant loss over the summer was that of lively winger, Jamie Marwood, who joined St Mirren in Scotland, but Alex Rodman is a very good signing as his replacement and he is known well by Mills after the pair worked together a few years ago. He will focus on good ball retention and keep lots of clean sheets once again as a building block to success. Of course, the competition for the top places will be a fierce one but Gateshead do look very well-placed to challenge for promotion and have a very settled and balanced squad overall.