Rob Elliot has made a total of 55 appearances in the Premier League. He has previously played for Newcastle United, Watford and also in his early career he played for his boyhood club, Charlton Athletic and made 96 appearances for the Valiants - a career many would dream of.
Additionally, he represented his country at international level since he qualifies for Ireland through his father's connection with Cork and he was named in the Ireland senior squad for the World Cup qualifiers in 2013.
Rob was first capped in a friendly against Turkey in May 2014 and was then capped the second time in September 2014. In 2016 he suffered an injury which unfortunately curtailed his season.
The interview
In a summary, how did you begin your professional footballing career?
"I probably had a more unusual start, I ended up writing off for a trial to a few clubs in the South East of England, which was where I was living at the time. During this time I was playing semi-professional and the only club that came back with an offer was Charlton Athletic, which was my boyhood club.
"The following day, I went in and they told me they needed a goalkeeper, I was only 15 years old at the time and I ended up going in there for a trial and played a match that weekend and stayed on trial until the end of the season until I signed a scholarship with the club."
Who was the biggest influence during your early career?
"It's hard to just say one influence, I think it's multiple people for many reasons. Early on it was my goalkeeping coach who showed faith in me. Mark Robson and the academy guys helped me massively and I obviously learned a lot from them.
"Then Andy Woodman, who was a goalkeeper coach at the time and he really helped me to develop and push on and he was also a big reason why I went to Newcastle. So overall many different people all for different reasons."
How did your move to Newcastle come about?
"Alan Pardew was my manager when I was at Charlton and Andy Woodman was also the goalkeeper coach, so when they left to join Newcastle and then it became apparent that they needed a number three 'keeper that left a path for me to join. I was young, cheap and the transfer fee wasn't too much so I fitted the bill for what they were looking for.
"Initially, at the start of the summer, I thought the deal had broken down, but eventually, a deal was struck and I joined a day before the transfer window shut. It was an amazing time and was something I never thought would happen playing for a club like Newcastle. I think everyone knows how big of a club Newcastle is, but when you actually arrive and go on the pitch and see the fans - you truly understand the actual size of the football club."
How did you feel when you left Newcastle after being at the club for so long?
"It was strange because I was at the club for so long and when I left it was during the Covid restart and I thought I was going to be staying at least until the end of the season, but unfortunately I was told last minute that I wouldn't be getting a contract extension to see out until the end of the season.
"I knew I wasn't going to get a new long-term contract, but again part of me hoped I would as I was settled in the North East and I knew that leaving Newcastle would mean that I would have to leave my family or relocate, which we didn't want to do. It was also sad as there were no fans in the ground and I hadn't played in a few years before that, so I think that was disappointing as I never knew which game would be my last for the club.
"But again that's life and I wouldn't trade being at the club for that - as I said it could have ended better but that's football and Newcastle were a different club back then and the way in which they dealt with things. Overall I'm very fortunate to have met the people I did, and it was a club I really cared about during the 10 years I was there."
What was the feeling like making your long-coming debut for Watford?
"It was a great feeling, I hadn't played in ages and I think we had an injury so my manager, Xisco Munoz put me in goal, and I really enjoyed it. I think we lost 3-1 that day and we should have won, Stoke City scored a couple of fluke goals. I remember thinking it was nice to be back out on the pitch and I had that buzz again from playing, which I hadn't had in a while.
"My job at Watford was mainly behind the scenes in supporting goalkeepers, trying to be good around the dressing room and just trying to help the lads. It was good to get back on the pitch even just to show people I could still play in goal. It was also the first season back with fans in the stadium, which was good - it's what makes the game so special."
Many refer to the Norwich loss at home as the turning point of Watford's season, what was the atmosphere like in the squad during that time?
"Yeah, I think unfortunately it just didn't go well during that period under Claudio Ranieri. I think now when looking back we had to win that game vs Norwich if we wanted to stay up. The atmosphere wasn't great at the time, everyone was feeling down and when you have a season like that, you get relegated and confidence is low that really is rock bottom.
"Obviously, things changed after that game and they brought a new manager in as he tried to spark things into life, but as players, we have to hold our hands up and accept it wasn't good enough. This season the club have had a brilliant start in the EFL Championship and hopefully, the club will come back up and the players that have learned from that relegation experience hopefully don't let it happen again."
When you were initially called up to represent and play for your country, what was going through your head?
"I remember when I first was called up and it was when I was under 17 and that was amazing. I went over and trained there for a few days, we were supposed to play in a tournament over in Portugal against Portugal, Spain and France, but I got injured the last day before we travelled over and I was absolutely gutted and I felt that I did really well so I was hoping that I would play and be involved.
"I wasn't involved again until I was playing with the under 19s and I played my first game - it was an amazing experience. That was the last time I was called up until I was at Newcastle and I found out that I was being called up when my manager told me. I thought he was joking but it ended up being true and then I got a call from the Irish manager and he confirmed that I was called up.
"Then on a Monday morning, I got a flight over and I was sitting there with my childhood heroes. I didn't get the opportunity to play as much as I would have liked for many reasons, but the experience was amazing."
What is your life like now after being appointed the new technical director of Gateshead, is this role something you are interested in the future?
"It's different - were obviously not lucky enough to have the resources other clubs have here at Gateshead, even within the league we're in. So my day-to-day role is going into the coach's meetings, getting things prepared for training and I'm involved in training too as a player and a coach.
"At the moment I'm trying to get to understand the club and find out what's needed, how we get an infrastructure in place, finding out what's long-term, what's short-term. It's been good so far just putting some stuff in place. I don't know what I want to do long-term, I wasn't actually expecting to step away from just playing so early so I'm still developing the role and understanding it.
"There's a lot more you need to learn rather than being just a player - whether it's dealing with agents, scouts or looking at new players. I will see where my future lies, if it's on the pitch, off the pitch or upstairs, but as of now, I don't really want to put anything on it. I'm here to help the manager and the lads as much as I can."
Who is the best footballer you have played with and why?
"Robbie Keane would have to be in there mainly because of the goals he has scored and the goals he has scored for Ireland, he's just a natural finisher, and when I was at Newcastle we had many good players like Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.
"I feel very proud to have played with some of the players I have played with. At Watford, there was Tom Cleverley who is technical and then you have Joao Pedro who is pure skill he's brilliant and Ismaila Sarr's energy. I think it's hard to just pick one - they all had different qualities, but then I had players in my career that gave you absolutely everything like Dan Gosling."
Who is the best coach you have played under and why?
"Again, there are multiple different ones all for different reasons. Phil Parkinson gave me my debut at Charlton and he always put a lot of responsibility on me as a young lad. Alan Pardew gave me opportunities and challenged me and got on top of me many times, he really challenged my mentality, which was what I probably needed as a much younger goalkeeper.
"Then the likes of Rafa Benitez, who was tactically unbelievable. Xisco Munoz he was the nicest guy ever, he brought you into the family of the club and everything - he was brilliant from my point of view. All the different managers I have had have helped me at different stages of my career."
