Heed captain slams owners and takeover drama after 'club meltdown'

CLUB captain Greg Olley has lashed out at Gateshead after witnessing what he described as “a club meltdown” over the last six months that he believes led to his side missing out on the National League play-offs.

- By MARK CARRUTHERS

In an explosive interview he claims that he and other players have been treated “like something on the bottom of your shoe” and hit out at the way the club has handled the Victor Anichebe-led takeover.

The Heed brought down the curtain on their season with a goalless draw against Southend United as Carl Magnay’s men failed to claim a win that would have allowed them to leapfrog their visitors and land the sixth and final play-off place.

A season that started so brightly with Olley scoring a hat-trick in a 5-1 hammering of Ebbsfleet United has ended on a sour note as any thoughts of a historic promotion into League Two have been swept aside amid a whirlwind of sales of key players, ongoing takeover talk and uncertainty that has impacted on every level of the club.

Given the limited financial resources on offer at the International Stadium, there has always been a struggle to retain the services of key players and that scenario played out once again as a Heed squad sitting in second place at the turn of the year was shorn of the services of top goalscorer Owen Oseni and key midfielder Callum Whelan.

Replacements were hard to come by and have not had the desired effect, which has led to some criticism of Magnay. Olley admitted he has felt sorry for his former teammate and current manager for the pressure he has faced - but stressed Magnay has not received enough support from the Heed hierarchy.

In an explosive club interview, the long-serving Heed club captain said: “It’s hard to get your head around because as a changing room, the staff, we worked so hard to get where we are. But there’s really no help from anywhere, it’s just us and unfortunately that’s the way the club has been in the last six or seven years since I've been here.