'Embrace the occasion' - South Shields challenged ahead of Darlington clash

Elliott Dickman wants his South Shields players to embrace the atmosphere and the occasion when they face North East rivals Darlington at the 1st Cloud Arena on New Years Day.

After claiming four points from their home game with Marine and the Boxing Day trip to Spennymoor Town, the Mariners sit one point and five places adrift of the National League North play-off places. Their visitors also remain firmly in the hunt for a top seven place ahead of Wednesday’s clash after they embarked on a seven-game unbeaten run with their last defeat coming at Brackley Town in early November.

A sizeable crowd is anticipated as the Quakers continue to enjoy the support of an impressive away backing and the Mariners have a healthy average home attendance once again this season. Dickman believes anyone involved in football should relish such an important occasion - and wants his players to feed off the atmosphere that will be created by both sets of supporters.

The former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy coach told The Gazette: “We will get our fans behind us and I believe Darlington are bringing a large number of fans with them too. With it being New Years Day, a bank holiday, playing against a local rival, I am sure it will be a brilliant atmosphere at our place and one that will be befitting of the occasion. As a player, as a coach, as a football person, you want to be involved in such occasions and experience such an atmosphere. We enjoy those occasions but we have to make sure we really focus on getting the win we want by performing at the level we can.”

The parallels between Dickman and Quakers boss Watson are all too evident. Both managers were initially appointed during the festive period last year and oversaw upturns in form from their sides before being handed permanent managerial roles. The momentum gained during the second half of last season has continued into the first half of the current campaign and both the Mariners and their visitors will head into Wednesday’s game looking to close the gap on the National League North play-off spots.

Dickman praised Watson and assistant manager Terry Mitchell for the improvement they have brought out of Darlington over the last 12 months and admitted he is relishing an ‘exciting afternoon’ when the two sides walk out at the 1st Cloud Arena.

He said: “They are in a good run of form. They’ve got good people at the club in Steve Watson and Terry Mitchell, who have always gone about their business in a thorough and professional manner. Steve has an excellent reputation within football, he had a brilliant career as a player and he’s done well as a manager with Gateshead, York City and Chester. The fact he’s gone into Darlington and got them going speaks volumes. They’ve got a good group of players and our journey within the National League North has been similar. He wants his team to play, we want ours to play so it’s set up to be an exciting afternoon.”

Dickman confirmed Will Jenkins and Mackenzie Heaney will miss the game.