Kevin Phillips reveals message to South Shields squad

The Mariners are away to Matlock Town who, like the league leaders, have been beaten just once on home soil so far this campaign.

Shields lost 1-0 at Guiseley on Saturday but remain three points clear of second-placed Hyde United, and on Tuesday they come up against a sixth-placed Matlock side coming off the back of a 2-0 at Stafford Rangers.

Manager Kevin Phillips is looking forward to seeing how his team responds to Saturday’s loss, which was their first in six games.

He said: “We were disappointed to lose the match at Guiseley and I don’t think we deserved to.

“The reality, though, is that we’re not going to win every game, and it’s about how we react now.

“The beauty of this league is that we’ve got a quick chance to respond well at Matlock on Tuesday, which will be another tough game.

“It’s a chance for us to put it right and put in a good performance.

“We’re still in a fantastic position and we’ll go again on Tuesday,” he added.

Phillips is full of belief that his players have what it takes to return to winning ways.

He added: “When we have a disappointing result, we usually get a quick reaction from the players, and hopefully we get that on Tuesday.

“We have to bounce back and learn from it, and be ready to go again at Matlock,” he added.

Shields are expected to have a near full-strength squad to choose from at Matlock, although midfielder Michael Woods remains sidelined after undergoing a minor eye operation.

Woods is expected to be back in contention in about a week.

Kick-off at The Proctor Cars Stadium – which has a post code of DE4 3AR – is at 7.45pm and admission prices are £12 for adults, £8 for concessions, £5 for children aged 16 to 18, £3 for children aged 10 to 15 and free for under-10s. The turnstiles will accept cash or card.