Tom Allan is helping Gateshead in the National League after his Newcastle United exit
For the remainder of the season, former Newcastle United attacker Tom Allan is prepared to put the past behind him and support Gateshead in their quest for historic victory after experiencing a “major low point” in his career.
When the 24-year-old came off the bench to set up a goal for Joelinton in an FA Cup third round replay victory over Rochdale just over four years ago, it appeared as though he was about to break through into the Magpies first team setup under previous boss Steve Bruce.
However, Allan’s senior experience with his boyhood team ended there, when he was released from Newcastle in the summer of 2022 after disappointing loan stints at Accrington Stanley and Greenock Morton.
After a bright beginning at Gateshead, when he scored his first goal in just his second game, a 1-1 home draw against National League rivals Notts County, he struggled to adapt to life in the top division of non-league football due to injuries.
Allan’s tenure at the International Stadium seems to be characterised by that, and his season-opening major injury earlier this year dealt him yet another setback.
But Allan’s first hesitant steps towards an on-field recovery were made last weekend when he entered the game off the bench in an FA Trophy quarterfinal victory against Peterborough Sports. Allan is determined to honour the confidence of some important Gateshead figures by supporting their successful campaign.
He told Chronicle Live: “It’s amazing to be back, it’s been around four months and it was just a breath of fresh air to be back.
“It’s now about kicking on for the run-in and making sure I can do what I can to help the team get to where we want to be. It was in the FA Trophy at Rochdale and I just went to take a shot and the abductor tendon popped off the bone so it was nasty.
“I tried to play on but it just wasn’t happening. I had to let it reattach, that took a couple of weeks and then it was about building it back up from there. The physio has been great and I owe a lot to him.”
If Allan’s season has been somewhat disrupted, it is hard to know how to describe the amount of challenges faced by his club after Gateshead have overcome a number of blows to maintain their push for success.
The loss of former manager Mike Williamson, assistant manager Ian Watson and coach Chris Bell to League Two club MK Dons in October was a major setback and an ongoing battle with a lengthy list of injuries hardly helped the cause.
January proved further disruption for interim manager and former Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot as in-form forward Stephen Wearne was reunited with Williamson at Stadium:MK and loan stars Kyran Lofthouse, Archie Mair and Billy Chadwick were all recalled by their former clubs.
Yet a number of new signings have boosted the Heed ranks and reinvigorated hopes Elliot and coaches Louis Storey and Carl Magnay can lead their side into the National League play-offs for only the second time in the club’s history.
The appointment of Elliot also offered a fresh start for Allan, who has been the subject of consistent praise and support from the Heed boss.
He said: “I think everyone knows it hasn’t quite gone how it hoped it would since I came in here but since Rob has come in as manager he’s given me a chance and supported me.
“I think I might have been on the way out when Mike was here but Rob, Louis and Mags have given me all of the support I needed. It’s been a fresh start for me when they took over and they have been really positive with me throughout all of this.
“In the 18 months I’ve been here, there have been some major low points and you can say that’s football. You just have to ride them out and the highs are always easier than the lows so I want to try and enjoy some highs here now.”
The Heed could hit the highest of highs over the next two months as they continue to push for unprecedented success on two fronts between now and the end of the season.
Last weekend’s FA Trophy quarter-final win against Peterborough Sports took Elliot’s side to within 90 minutes of a second successive final and they will host Northern Premier League club Macclesfield in the last four of the competition next month.
Tuesday’s narrow home win against Dagenham and Redbridge also kept Gateshead firmly in the hunt for a play-off place in the National League and kept alive their hopes of joining the likes of Notts County, Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City in League Two next season.
While Allan acknowledged that he and his teammates are in a new situation as the thrilling season draws to a close, he emphasised that the entire Heed team is prepared to fight for historic victory.
“As a club, we have probably not been here, and some of the guys in the team haven’t been in this circumstance before,” he clarified.
Although the team has seen success in the play-offs and the FA Trophy run the previous year, we are still performing well in both tournaments.
It sounds simple, but the key is to just take each game as it comes and make every effort to move closer to our desired destination.
“Everyone in the squad, myself included, is vying for positions, and we will all be involved in the run-in.”
