South Shields defender Dillon Morse targets Football League after Northern Premier League title win

Dillon Morse believes South Shields are ‘destined for the Football League’ after his side took another step up the non-league pyramid.

The Mariners stalwart came off the bench as his side secured the Northern Premier League title with a narrow win at Whitby Town earlier this week and returned to the starting lineup as they saw off old rivals Warrington Town at a jubilant 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The former Gateshead defender has come a long way with the Mariners since he joined the club in the summer of 2016 and has experienced a whole host of highs and lows over the following seven years. From securing a historic quadruple and scoring at Wembley in his first season as a Mariner to suffering play-off heartache and seeing the Covid-19 pandemic scupper two promotion bids, Morse has been through it all. The centre-back described the Northern Premier League title win as one of the best moments in his career but has immediately set his sights higher than the National League North as his side turn their focus towards taking on the second tier of the non-league game.

He told The Gazette: “This is right up there with the best because we have been stuck in this league for four seasons now because of what happened with Covid and the play-off defeats.

“It was hard for us to take but to win it now, to finally get out of this league, it’s a moment that is up there as one of the best in my career. I’ve been in the league for a while and I know just how tough it is. The league above is tough but there are sides that like to play football and that might help us a bit because that’s what we do. You can see the foundations that are in place at the football club and the work that goes into it, this club can go places. It’s destined for the Football League in my opinion because you can feel the potential in here. It’s onwards and upwards for us.”

Morse will hope to retain his place in the Mariners lineup as they round off their season with a visit to Stafford Rangers next weekend.