Watson calls on South Shields to be ruthless in Curzon Ashton test
National League North leaders South Shields face Curzon Ashton at the 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday.
Ian Watson wants South Shields to learn from the best athletes in the world by moving on from a key victory and placing their full focus on their attempts to achieve further success.
The 1st Cloud Arena was rocking in midweek as the Mariners claimed a 2-1 win against title rivals AFC Fylde to move to the top of the National League North table ahead of Saturday’s home game against Curzon Ashton. The win also meant Watson’s side are unbeaten in their last 14 league games and they will be favourites to extend that run when they make a quickfire return to their home patch this weekend.
However, the Mariners players will head into the game with their mid-table visitors with a strong warning from their manager ringing in his ears after he warned they can’t use any fatigue from their exploits against Fylde as an excuse for underperforming.
He told The Gazette: “We have to recover as best we can. If you want to be successful you have to find ways. That’s what the boys have to do. You can’t come to Saturday and say I’m tired from Tuesday and can’t perform today. You have to find a way and if you don’t do that you won’t be successful. The best athletes in the world, the best players in the world, they find a way to be about the next day and the next game all of the time.”
Standards
One of the highlights of the midweek win against Fylde was the performance of summer signing Sean McGurk as the former Liverpool and Leeds United academy winger showed why Watson was so keen to secure his services after he left Swindon Town at the end of last season.
Hardworking out of possession and a persistent threat on the ball, McGurk produced arguably his best performance for the Mariners and grabbed the winning goal with a finish that showcased his cool, calm and composed nature. Watson has been delighted with the impact made by the 22-year-old in recent weeks and he is benefitting from the trust he placed in the Mariners when they won the race for his services ahead of the season.
He said: “Sean put a lot of trust in us in the summer and with that trust I have to hold him to the standards set when we persuaded him to come in the summer. He has to run, he has to work and the rest will come out because he has so much quality. He was part of Bielsa’s Leeds team, he trained with Raphinha and players like that. He has so much quality and you saw his quality (against Fylde). Don’t underestimate that finish for granted, he’s calm, he comes back inside, he’s not snatching at it. It’s a credit to how fit he has kept himself too because we asked questions about that, he’s kept fit and he gets through the game.”
There was more positive news for Watson in midweek when the Mariners confirmed on-loan Derby County forward Lennon Wheeldon will remain with the club until the end of their league campaign.