Gary Mills, the new boss at Saturday's opponents Gateshead, says his club has everything he needs to turn it into a Football League side.
Mills, speaking to the BBC, praised the club and the area: "It's a fantastic part of the country for football, Newcastle there, Sunderland down the road, Middlesbrough - all Premier League and Football League clubs and I'm here to turn Gateshead into a Football League club.
"That's my goal, that's my aim, I've got the facilities here to do that, everything I'd need and want and there's no excuses.
"They're fanatical, I love that, because I love football myself. There's a lot of people in football but don't really like it, but they're in it. I'm in because I enjoy the job. I love the job. I'm going to enjoy meeting everybody up here, they're fantastic people. I want to get to meet people very quickly, want them to know me and trust me.
"I'm more than pleased to be here as their manager, I didn't just want a job. This feels so right, I can't explain to you."
Gateshead chairman Graham Wood said 12 months ago that the club needed attendances of 3,000 to break even at the International Stadium, a target he reiterated two weeks ago, but attracted only 631 to their last home game with Macclesfield.
A new scheme at the club allows Newcastle season ticket holders to attend matches at the ground for £9, a move jointly promoted by the Premier League side, with Wood telling the press:
"I clearly can't continue to fund losses for ever and if we are to realise our ambition of regaining Football League status for the town we want it to be sustainable.
"The club's current attendances fall well short of comparable clubs from towns of a similar size and whilst there are undoubtedly several reasons for this, there's no doubt that a major factor is our close proximity to one of the giants of world football.
"It is obvious therefore that we should look to encourage Newcastle fans to extend their support to us also."