Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Gateshead took 31 points from a possible 45 to dramatically climb up the National League table to safety
2 CommentsOn Valentine's Day, few Gateshead fans would have been feeling their love for their team after another miserable afternoon.
The home defeat by Brackley was a 16th successive loss in all competitions stretching back to 1 November, and a 13th in the league.
Bottom of the National League, they were toast. Finished. Relegation certainties. Regional football beckoned.
They were 11 points adrift - albeit with three games in hand - but were on a winless league run stretching back to 30 September.
Anyone predicting the bottom four at the end of the season would have written Gateshead down in permanent marker pen.
Now as the National League's regular season comes to an end on Saturday, the Tyneside club's fate is already known.
Why? Because they have pulled off one of the greatest ever relegation escapes, safety assured with two games to spare.
"It's an incredible achievement," manager Rob Elliot told BBC Sport.
"It probably redefines what is possible if you have that belief and mentality and that's what the group did."
Image source, BBC SportImage caption, The bottom 10 in the National League on 14 February and how the table looks now
The central figure to this story is manager Elliot. The 39-year-old returned to the club in January for a second spell, trying to recapture the magic of the first.
Under Ellliot, Gateshead had finished sixth in the National League in 2024, only denied a play-off spot because the club had failed to meet the entry criteria for joining the English Football League.
But they shrugged off that disappointment to beat Solihull Moors on penalties to win the FA Trophy at Wembley a fortnight later.
He had Heed fifth again the following season when League One Crawley Town made him their new boss, but for both Elliot and Gateshead, the ensuing period was not a success.
The former Newcastle United and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper lasted only five months with Crawley, while his old club had tumbled from fifth all the way to the bottom when he was reappointed.
"There were still some really good people at the club, but there had been a lot of changes for different reasons, upstairs and behind the scenes," said Elliot.
"I felt the club had lost its identity and culture in terms of what it actually is."
Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Gateshead lifted the FA Trophy for the first time under Elliot's tenure in 2024
Image source, BBC Sport/ShutterstockThe return did not get off to the best of starts, either.