Carl Magnay speaks after leaving as manager of Gateshead to become the assistant manager of league below South Shields.
Magnay began his career at Chelsea FC, with loan spells at MK Dons and Northampton, and later played over 200 games for clubs including Gateshead, Hartlepool United, Spennymoor Town, and Grimsby Town.
He transitioned to coaching in 2015 at Pro Player Football Academy and served as a youth talent scout for Chelsea in 2019.
After retiring in 2023, Magnay coached at Gateshead under Mike Williamson, followed by stints at MK Dons and Carlisle United, before returning to Gateshead as first-team manager.
He now joins South Shields FC as assistant manager alongside manager Ian Watson.
On Monday, a club statement read: “Gateshead FC can confirm that Carl Magnay has tended his resignation as first-team manager.
“We wish to thank Carl for his efforts during his time as manager of Gateshead FC, and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.
“We will be looking to appoint a new manager as swiftly and efficiently as possible -prospective applicants are invited to email manager@gateshead-fc.com with their CV for consideration. Applications will close by 5pm on Friday, June 6.
“Successful applicants will be invited to interview during the week commencing Monday, June 9.
“Bernard McWilliams, Chairman”
Interviewer: Carl, welcome to South Shields. How does it feel to be appointed as the assistant manager?
Carl: Yeah, really pleased. Obviously Ian is someone that I’m really close to, someone that I really value. I think he’s a fantastic coach and I think he’ll be an excellent manager. You know, hugely popular person and someone that I’m looking forward to supporting as best I possibly can. I think we work well together and we’re looking forward to the challenge.
Interviewer: Just to lean more into that, how did this this role come about?
Carl: So, me and Ian obviously know each other very well. we’ve worked with each other before. Um, you know, we we feel like we work really well together. So, I think when he got the opportunity to be the manager here, I was really fortunate, you know, that he he had me in the forefront of his mind and that he’s seen obviously a lot of strengths in me that could benefit him and that’s what I’m here for. I’m here to support him as best I can, you know drive standards and you know get this club which has huge potential to where we think it can get to.
Interviewer: Great. And you’ve had experience coaching at MK Dons, Carlisle United and most most recently in the National League with Gateshead. What were those experiences like for you?
Carl: Yeah know there were great experiences obviously going into the Football League with a club like MK Dons, you know fantastic facilities and you know a big club and yeah that was great experience. You know, I’m a young coach still, you know, so I’ve probably had a lot of learning to do in a short space of time, so gained a lot of experience in that sense. And obviously Carlisle wasn’t there particularly long, so can’t really lean on that experience too much, but the Gateshead one was then a different thing to what it was previously. You know, as a manager, you take a little bit of a step back from the coaching side of it, and you know, you don’t want your voice to be too familiar. It’s part of the dynamic. So yeah, I think I’ve probably learned that coaching and being on pitch regularly and, you know, designing and delivering sessions is probably my strength and I’m looking forward to getting back onto the grass with regularity and try and obviously help the team as much as I possibly can.
Interviewer: And obviously you’ve touched on it yourself, but you’ll be alongside Ian Watson who you’ve worked with before. What sort of relationship do you both have and how how do you see that working well here?
Carl: Been mates for a long time. Before we sort of knew each other within football. Then when I came back to Gateshead, as a player, he was obviously assistant manager with Mike and I seen him in a whole different light, you know, as a mate to someone in a football environment. You know, coming from the background that he has, which was personal training, you know, it was u football and and coaching and and now he’s a manager, you know, was something that was completely natural to him. So I thoroughly enjoyed working with him as a player, learned a hell of a lot from him and uh that’s just sort of fed into the coaching and management side of it. So yeah, we’re taking a strong relationship off pitch and we’ve sort of built it on pitch as well over the years. So, we’re looking to to obviously work together and implement our style and hopefully get South Shields to where we think can get.
Lee Picton shared his thoughts on Magnay’s appointment:
“Carl’s appointment is another statement of intent as to our aspirations as a club moving forward. He brings with him a huge wealth of knowledge and experience and has attained a fantastic reputation as a really strong player developer. I personally think that the dynamic between Ian and Carl will prove to be an exceptionally successful one due to their complete alignment on football vision and values.
We are absolutely delighted to welcome Carl to the club and hugely look forward to seeing him make a massively positive impact alongside Ian within the 1st Team environment, and across the wider club.”
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Here’s how fans reacted as Carl Magnay speaks after leaving as manager of Gateshead to become South Shields assistant manager…
@MickScully7: I wish Carl all the best, going forward. Things didn’t go as hoped but he suffered terrible, unwarranted abuse, even though not all things were in his control. Is the budget there for next season? If not, we won’t be getting any ‘big’ name replacements.
@nathancoulson98: Can’t say I’m shocked. Season ended four weeks ago and we never heard a word from him in that time. He had to endure a hell of a lot of crap in his tenure and will hopefully go on to achieve great things elsewhere, as he did as a player.
@lee_calderr: All the best for the future Carl, a true Gateshead legend. The only player to have walked out at Wembley three times with Gateshead. Then, to go on to manage the club in the town he was born, a fantastic bloke.
@Dec6666: Correct decision. Big question mark around who has offered the players contracts then as some very questionable offers as he had gone over a week ago and its only just been put out now. Also fancy announcing the friendly we have with blyth town in July or just not posting things
@NECornerHeed: Sad to see Magnay step down however we back the board to find a suitable replacement for him. We will always be there throughout! #WorClub
@ItsJustTheMess1: Not shocked we didn’t hear nothing for him lovely person and had to to deal with so much crap wish him all the best
@joshgfc23: Nice bloke decent coach just couldn’t hack the manager role, will do him the world of good working with busted
@Fergie_78: Great appointment, top class coach & even better bloke 🤝👏
@nathancoulson98: Hope it goes well, but obviously not too well. Deserves a better hand than he was dealt here. Hopefully he learns and evolves the tactical side of his game under Busted, as that was a clear weakness here. A lot of dropped points and poor performances. Good luck to them both.
Courage calls to courage everywhere… pic.twitter.com/fKg4pPh5gr
— Ryan (@RMonty721) June 2, 2025
— 🦊James CUFC (@james_cufc2000) June 2, 2025
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