South Shields confirm departure of manager Elliott Dickman
There was some big news from the National League North club on Tuesday evening.
South Shields have confirmed they have parted company with manager Elliott Dickman.
The former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy coach took interim charge of the Mariners following the departure of Julio Arca in December 2023 and guided his side to an eighth placed finish in the National League North. That led to Dickman being appointed as Mariners manager on a permanent basis and there were high hopes over a successful push for the play-off places in non-league’s second tier.
However, injuries and inconsistency hampered any attempts to make a sustained push towards the top seven and early exits from the FA Trophy and FA Cup only added further cause for disappointment. A dismal run of form during the second half of the season saw South Shields slide down the table as five wins in their 22 league games since the turn of the year meant Dickman’s side ended the campaign in seventeenth place, just four places about the relegation zone.
Speaking to The Gazette last week, Dickman reflected on a disappointing season and revealed his determination to improve when the new campaign gets underway.
He said: “The overriding emotion from last season is that there some highs but there were far too many lows - and that is something that needs to change. We need to better when we don’t have the ball, with the ball we have done well, but we have lost games that we shouldn’t be losing and we’ve been too open in games. So we need that mindset to cherish a clean sheet and cherish the defensive side of the game because with the players we have and the ones we want to bring in, we are confident we can play the style of football we want but also be more solid and be harder to play against.”
However, a new manager will be in the dugout at the 1st Cloud Arena when the players return for pre-season training after the Mariners confirmed Dickman had been relieved of his duties and sporting director will take charge of first-team duties ‘with immediate effect’.
A short club statement released on Tuesday night read: “South Shields FC can confirm that Elliott Dickman has been relieved of his duties as First-Team Manager. We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Elliott for his dedication and contribution over the past two seasons. Everyone at the club wishes him the very best in his future endeavours. With immediate effect, Sporting Director Lee Picton will assume responsibility for first-team affairs.”
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