Former Hartlepool United captain Carl Magnay has been confirmed as assistant manager at South Shields following his Gateshead resignation.

Magnay, who made 114 appearances for Pools, took over at Gateshead in October following the departure of Rob Elliot, who left to take charge of Crawley. The 36-year-old made a bright start and was named the National League's manager of the month after an unbeaten December; indeed, the Heed closed to within two points of leaders Barnet after beating Pools 4-3 on Boxing Day.

However, things took a turn for the worse in January, with the Heed losing a number of their star players. Frontman Owen Oseni, who scored 12 goals in 24 games, signed for St Mirren, influential midfielder Callum Whelan signed for Carlisle, while defender Josh Williams was recalled from his loan spell by Birmingham before penning a permanent deal with the Cumbrians.

To make matters more complicated, Gateshead were heavily linked with a takeover led by former Sunderland striker Victor Anichebe. At one stage, the takeover seemed mere hours away - and it was later revealed that the prospective new owners had been inside the Heed dressing room and influenced the signing of Yeovil forward Frank Nouble - but, for whatever reason, things hit an unforeseen snag and the club were left in a bizarre sort of limbo as a deal dragged on.

The former Pools captain has been confirmed as the new assistant manager at National League North side South Shields just a day after stepping down as Gateshead boss. Picture by Mark Fletcher.

placeholder image — The former Pools captain has been confirmed as the new assistant manager at National League North side South Shields just a day after stepping down as Gateshead boss. Picture by Mark Fletcher.

On the pitch, things went from bad to worse; Gateshead lost six successive games in March and won just five of their final 22 matches, slipping out of the play-off places despite looking almost certain to finish in the top seven at the turn of the year. Magnay, who tendered his resignation on Monday, labelled the end of the campaign a "disaster" while skipper Greg Olley, who has since left, said he had "never seen a club meltdown as badly". In an explosive interview, the midfielder asked "can you say we've reinvested that money? I don't think so, I don't know where the money goes." Olley also leapt to Magnay's defence, revealing that "his hands are firmly tied behind his back. He has no help from above, he's got the takeover lingering."

Magnay is now set to make an instant return to coaching as he reunites with Steve Watson, who was Mike Williamson's assistant during a successful spell at Gateshead and was appointed manager of National League North side South Shields last week. Watson, who also worked with Williamson at MK Dons and Carlisle, added Magnay to his coaching staff on Tuesday. South Shields finished 17th last season and have said goodbye to a number of long-serving players already this summer, including former Pools forward Luke James.

Lee Picton, the Mariners sporting director, hailed Magnay's arrival as "another statement of intent".

"Carl's appointment is another statement of intent as to our aspirations as a club moving forward," he told the official South Shields website.

"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."