General manager reveals he left Gateshead over Scott Boden's transfer to Chesterfield

Boden returned to the Proact on 30th January, signing for an undisclosed fee.

It was a controversial move, at least in the north east, due to his status as their top goalscorer and the transfer embargo the Heed are still operating under.

In an interview with the Sunderland Echo, former Gateshead official Mike Coulson called Boden's move the 'tipping point' for his own departure.

The Echo states that Town's bid for the 29-year-old, who made it clear he favoured a return to Chesterfield, caused a difference in opinion between key figures at the International Stadium.

Manager Ben Clark, Coulson and operations director Michael Williams insisted that Boden should stay, given the paper-thin nature of the Heed squad.

Owner Varghese and his adviser Joseph Cala wanted to sell and although a truce was found, it was short-lived.

“The club were going to sell Boden to Chesterfield,” explained Coulson.

“I objected, as did Ben Clark and Michael Williams.

“We sat down with the owner and Joseph Cala and we voiced our concerns.

“It was agreed at a meeting that, until the embargo was lifted, Boden would stay with the club. Then, when we could bring in a replacement, he could leave.

“That was how it was left on the Tuesday. On the Wednesday morning I came into work to find an email with transfer papers from Chesterfield.

“I phoned them to see what had happened and they told me Joseph Cala had called them on the Tuesday night to ask them to take Boden quickly.

“That was the tipping-point for leaving. I wasn’t prepared to work with people that I can’t trust.”

Before the transfer was completed, differing accounts emerged of what Chesterfield had initially offered, with Spireites sources disputing Coulson's description of the negotiations.When Boden did leave the International Stadium, Gateshead boss Ben Clark accused the striker of not leading by example.

“It’s incredibly disappointing," he said.

"We told Scott that we didn’t want him to leave and couldn’t let him leave while we were under a transfer embargo as we couldn’t replace him.

“But Scott made it incredibly clear to us that he did not want to be at the football club any longer – to the point where we felt it could have a significant effect on our dressing room. We’ve got a young dressing room and with Scott as one of the more experienced players in that dressing room, you need him to lead by example which, unfortunately, he hasn’t."

Since becoming a Spireite for the second time Boden has scored five goals in eight games.