Hebburn Town will only get better when team knits together, says boss

The Hornets have made a 100 per cent start to the Northern League season, their only setback coming last weekend when they crashed out of the FA Cup after a 3-2 defeat against Dunston UTS.

Oliver saw his side bounce back from that reverse in midweek, enjoying a comfortable 3-0 win over Whickham to sit top of the Division One table.

They host Stockton Town tomorrow, and Oliver has warned his players they must be at their best against last season’s FA Vase finallists.

He said: “Stockton will be a tough test on Saturday – last season’s FA Vase finalists are another very good team in this league.

“Our league form is impressive with three wins out of three and the win at Whickham was a good all round performance and the clean sheet was very welcome.

“Having Andrew Stephenson and James Fairley back in the team helped as they missed ourFA Cup defeat last Saturday.

“While this new team is knitting together it is a huge bonus to be picking up points early as the team will only get better and more consistent as we plough through a long season.

“Lessons were learned in the Dunston defeat and just like that game, if individuals have an off day then you lose games in this league no matter who the new signings are.”

One of Hebburn’s big summer acquisitions, captain Louis Storey, returns after missing the Whickham game.

Striker Luke Sullivan, however, will miss the game after picking up a horrible cut to his forehead on Wednesday night which led to him coming off after 30 minutes.

Dan Smith continues to have a problem with his knee but Gary Shaw returns to the squad. The wide player has come off the transfer list.