Williamson and his team are ‘the very best of people’ according to Gateshead replacement

Interim Gateshead manager Rob Elliot has piled praise on MK Dons’ new management team after their arrival at Stadium MK this week.

Mike Williamson took over as head coach in Milton Keynes on Tuesday after four years in charge of the Heed, bringing with him Assistant Head Coach Ian Watson and First-Team Coach Chris Bell from the Gateshead International Stadium.

Elliot, a former Newcastle United team-mate of Williamson, has taken over in the short-term as Gateshead take on Chesterfield in the National League this weekend, and expressed his admiration for the departing management team when speaking ahead of the game.

“I can’t really describe how I feel about Mike, Ian and Belly but they know they have all of my love and best wishes for the future,” he said.

“They are just the very best of people and they are also the very best of football managers, coaches and staff.

“But this is football, nobody is hiding from that, and these things happen so we wish them all of the best but we have to focus on Gateshead and making sure we move this club forwards by doing our best and doing what we do best - working together, working hard and staying focused.”

Elliot will be assisted at Gateshead by former MK Dons loanee Carl Magnay, who played for seven minutes across two games on loan from Chelsea in January 2009.