South Shields boss bemused by away form ahead of Farsley Celtic clash

Elliott Dickman has admitted he is baffled by South Shields ‘mind-blowing’ poor form away from home.

After suffering away losses at King’s Lynn Town and Radcliffe earlier this week, the Mariners have now won just four of 17 National League North games on the road this season. With the third of four consecutive away fixtures lying in wait at bottom of the table Farsley Celtic on Saturday, the former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy boss has stressed the need to cut out basic errors to rack up a much-needed away win this weekend.

He told The Gazette: “It’s mind-blowing to be honest with you and I sit scratching my head thinking of how bad we have been away from home. We conceded really poor goals and that has been our Achilles heel because some of the decisions that have led to goals we have conceded are really basic errors and really poor mistakes. They have cost us games and results. You have to look at results, our results haven’t been good enough and we have to improve that.”

The Mariners boss has warned his players they can not afford to take their visitors lightly - despite the on and off-field issues that have enveloped the club in recent months. Following their 6-0 hammering at the hands of Kidderminster Harriers, Farsley sit at the bottom of the table and appear to be heading towards relegation as they sit nine points from safety with ten games remaining. However, there are more concerns over the club’s long-term future as they continue to play ‘home’ games at Buxton’s Silverlands as their natural home at The Citadel is still awaiting major improvements including the significantly delayed installation of a new 3G pitch.

“Their situation isn’t ideal and I am sure they will have a group of players wanting to put that right because they won’t want to be on the run they are on at the moment. We just have to make sure we are really clinical and see it as an opportunity to win away from home by showing the mentality we have shown at places like Alfreton, Warrington, Oxford City and Scarborough. We have to show more of that and if we get that we can come away with a positive result.”

There was one positive from an otherwise difficult week for the Mariners as striker Paul Blackett racked up a half-century of goals for the club when he found the net at Radcliffe on Tuesday night. Dickman paid tribute to the former Spennymoor Town and Gateshead forward and described Blackett as ‘a big plus point’ from what has been a season of contrasting emotions for his side.

He said: “He’s a special player and 50 goals in a season and a half is an incredible achievement. We know how much we value Paul and his goalscoring ability, with those numbers, is unquestionable. He’s an unbelievable asset for us and I can’t speak highly enough of him. He’s a top player and a really good person. He is a big plus point for us this year.”

Dickman is awaiting news on the fitness of Dylan Stephenson before finalising his plans for the game.

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