After a bleak few weeks and months, players and staff at National League club Gateshead hope Saturday's match with Barrow is the start of a brighter period.

It is their first game since the Heed's proposed takeover by an American private investment firm was approved.

Now while they wait for good news from the Independent Football Regulator in terms of giving a 'yes' to incoming owners Flacks Group, the mood at the International Stadium has been lifted considerably.

Ben Clark has been interim manager since the departure of Lee Cattermole early last month and has had to lead a squad low on morale, with poor results and having wages delayed for successive months.

And he, for one, has felt an upturn in that atmosphere in the build-up to this match.

"It's been a difficult period - there's no denying that, but there's a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel," Clark told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"Through it all, I've enjoyed the football. It's been a bit of a release. The lads have been good and they've been getting better in their performances.

"Hopefully, there is some good news around the corner with the full takeover happening and the club can start building and moving forward."

Gateshead return to action with their first league match for a fortnight against the Bluebirds, with a renewed sense of purpose.

Defeat last time out by Aldershot Town was a ninth consecutive loss in the league, as the Heed sit bottom with just four points out of a possible 45.

They are already 13 points adrift of safety after only 15 matches and their sole league victory was way back on 15 August.

However, that was all against the backdrop of delayed wages and uncertainty over the club's very future. So new ownership offers a new slate for everyone.

For captain David Ferguson, the adversity and challenges of recent weeks have actually brought the players closer.

"Before all this, we weren't as tight-knit as we are now," he said. "It has definitely brought us closer together.

"Not getting paid is a big issue. Everyone's got their own lives but everyone has come in and been professional and got on with the job.

"Any issues, we've all spoken about it or people have helped each other or offered to help. That's massive."

This week, Gateshead advertised for a new manager so Clark describes the match with Barrow as "a trial" for his players to impress any prospective boss.

It is also a first home game in the league since 3 October, a gap of six weeks and a chance to get some much-needed revenue through the door.

Average league attendances this season are just 727 - comfortably the lowest in the National League - and the Heed will hope for considerably more than that for a match being played during the Premier League and Championship's international break with north east big boys Newcastle and Sunderland having a weekend off.

And for Clark, a former Gateshead captain in his playing days, growing the club's fanbase is something that has to be a motivating factor moving forward.

The club won the FA Trophy only two years ago and finished sixth and eighth in successive seasons in 2024 and 2025, so they have proved in the recent past they can compete strongly at National League level.

Even last season's struggles ultimately yielded what could be seen as a ray of hope for this term's troubles - when the Heed produced a miraculous escape act, staying up despite being 11 points from safety in February.

"We've got to give the people of Gateshead a football club they can be proud of," Clark said.

"I've seen it myself at the end of my career, we've got to play-off semi-finals and finals when there were 8,000 here.

"I see that 2,000 is something we can easily achieve, but it's up to the players to get a product that people want to come and watch.

"It'll be difficult because we're in a tricky situation but you win football games and the support will come."