Hard work pays off as South Shields return to winning ways against Leamington

South Shields manager Elliott Dickman insisted his belief in his players never wavered as they returned to winning ways against Leamington.

The Mariners went into the game on the back of a run of four defeats and one draw in their last five games in all competitions and were without a win since they edged to a 1-0 victory against Buxton on the first Tuesday of September. After a week of hard work on the training pitch after last weekend’s disappointing 3-0 loss at Southport, the fruits of the Mariners labour was shown at both ends of the pitch as a solid defensive display secured a clean sheet and a Tom Broadbent goal claimed all three points.

Dickman praised the attitude and work-rate of his players and staff and stressed he had never doubted they would move on from their disappointing run.

He told The Gazette: “I have to pay credit to the players and the staff because we have worked for a long time trying to get the performance we got today, in particular during the first half because I thought we were excellent. We always had the belief it would click soon and although there is a relief in terms of the result, we knew the performance would come because we stayed true to who we are and how we play.  The players and staff deserve full credit for that.  We knew what threat they (Leamington) had coming here but the focus had to be on us and making sure we continue doing what we are good at.”

A crowd of over 2,100 was on hand to witness the Mariners first home game in just under a month and Dickman expressed his delight in rewarded the loyalty of the club’s supporters with a hard earned win.

The former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy coach said: “I am absolutely thrilled for the fans, who travel up and down the country to see us week-in, week-out.  There have been some long journeys for them so far this season so it’s nice to get a win for them on our return home.”

The Mariners will make a quick-fire return to the 1st Cloud Arena when they host Radcliffe on Tuesday night.