South Shields boss insists team has achieved nothing yet after FA Vase quarter-final win

The Mariners are now into the semi-finals of three cup competitions following Saturday’s 6-1 crushing of Newport Pagnell Town.

They are also well-placed in second in Northern League Division One, knowing a top-three finish would be enough to secure promotion.

However, Fenton insists that unless Shields convert their current position into trophies, it will all ultimately mean nothing.

He said: “It is a great achievement so far, to reach three semi-finals.

“No one remembers semi-finalists, though, so we’ve now got to push on and make sure we get into finals, and hopefully pick up a few trophies.”

Shields went 2-0 up inside the first six minutes at Mariners Park on Saturday thanks to stunning strikes from David Foley and Wayne Phillips.

Those goals led to a carnival atmosphere among a record Mariners Park crowd of 3,161.

And Fenton also feels they played a crucial role in settling the players down on such a big occasion.

He added: “The start went exactly to plan.

“They were two unbelievable strikes to get us 2-0 ahead and I think that just settled everyone down.

“You go into the game with a little bit of nerves, but when you’re 2-0 up in such a short space of time, it settles everyone.

“The lads went on from there and it was brilliant that they performed well in front of such a big crowd.

“The last two times we had played in front of really big crowds didn’t quite go to plan, and we hadn’t been at our best.

“This time we were excellent and hopefully the people who came for the first time will have had their appetites whet, and want to come back again and support us.”

Shields now return to league action on Wednesday when they face a tricky trip to Newcastle Benfield, where they won 2-1 in the League Cup a fortnight ago.