Hebburn warns players over South Shields derby place

Hebburn travel to Willington tomorrow on the back of one of their worst performances of the season when they crashed 4-0 against Northallerton last weekend.

They then go to Mariners Park on Tuesday for a Northern League Division Two clash with Shields, with a crowd estimated to be more than 1,500.

Oliver wants to see a huge improvement from his players if they are to keep their place for the high-profile clash.

“Ideally, we can build some confidence back in the team in time for Tuesday’s derby,” he said. “But actions speak louder than words and I will be watching closely to see who deserves a place on Tuesday.

“I have had most of these players a long time now and maybe they have stopped listening and become complacent.

“We are going round in circles at the moment.

“I am looking for an improvement from us all. If you dont win headers and tackles and run about, you lose games in this league.

“Football sometimes is about playing with a bit heart, and we didn’t do that last week.

“After last Saturday’s disappointment we must move on. We have four games left, then we can decide where we go from here for next season.”

Oliver will welcome back Chris Smith, Callum Smith and Kyle Morris back into his squad tomorrow but Lee McMahon, James Talbot and Alan Pegram are out injured.