The Mariners gained promotion from Division Two at the eighth time of asking, and Steadman knows it may take his players a little bit of time to adjust to top-flight football.

And while everyone connected with the club is still on a high after the last 12 months, the manager is warning the club not to expect miracles.

While some people may be hoping Shields can push on and take the division by storm, Steadman recognises that the gulf in standard between the two divisions means that every game is a huge test – as was shown with their opening day 2-0 defeat at home to Ashington.

"If there's anyone expecting us to be in the top six at the end of the season, then I'll be telling them to get real," said Steadman.

"I don't want to appear to be unambitious, but my aim is to finish mid-table in our first season.

"The standard is high, and all the teams are capable of beating each other.

"People talk about the second division being a tough league to get out of, but I think every game is harder in the first division."

One of the problems Steadman will encounter is coming up against clubs with much bigger budgets than what he has to work with at Filtrona Park.

The likes of Whitley Bay, Consett and Sunderland Nissan can attract players that are out of Shields's reach at the moment, but Steadman is quite happy to give the players who got the club promoted their chance in Division One.

But he knows he will have to keep looking at ways of strengthening his squad as the season progresses.

Shields hosted a number of triallists over pre-season, but the majority of them failed to impress Steadman sufficiently.

He said: "We have had loads of triallists who we had to play to find out what they were like, but, to be honest, most weren't better than what we've got.

"I'm still looking to bring one or two in though, one being another forward.

"We need someone who is a bit different to the forwards we've already got, someone with a bit of pace."

Shields were interested in Afolabi Shekoni, who hit a hat-trick against them last season for Horden, but that deal now appears to be dead in the water.