Gateshead's difficult season continued with a 4-0 defeat at Wealdstone on Saturday, leaving Lee Cattermole's first managerial role under increasing pressure. The team remain bottom of the National League, having conceded 15 goals in their last four matches.
Match details
Olufela Olomola scored the first of two unanswered goals before half-time. Luke Norris converted a softly conceded penalty for Wealdstone's second, with a third goal coming within two minutes of the resumption and a fourth just before the end.
Gateshead had travelled 278 miles, with about 100 away fans in attendance. The team had been six goals down by half-time at home to Southend the previous week.
Cattermole's approach
Cattermole, a former Middlesbrough, Wigan and Sunderland midfielder who collected 88 yellow cards and seven reds in 271 Premier League games, has employed a "bomb squad" approach. Eight players are reported to be training at alternative times to the first team, having also been removed from WhatsApp group chats.
Alfie McCalmont, a Northern Ireland international lately of Central Coast Mariners in Australia, joined Gateshead in midweek. After bright beginnings, the new arrival soon found himself dragged into the torpor of his new teammates.
Post-match reaction
Ben Clark, Cattermole's assistant, delivered the post-match verdict. "We conceded a soft goal, and struggled from there on in," he said. "The lads are struggling a bit with their confidence."
Chants of "sacked in the morning" and "time to go" came from the away end. The possibility of Cattermole being dismissed had heightened, with such news likely to be accompanied by a corner-flag image on the club website.
